third-rate

[ thurd-reyt ]
See synonyms for third-rate on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of the third rate, quality, or class.

  2. distinctly inferior: a third-rate performance.

Origin of third-rate

1
First recorded in 1640–50

Other words from third-rate

  • third-rater, noun

Words Nearby third-rate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use third-rate in a sentence

  • In the past, it has actually helped the cause of freedom that politics is mostly a pursuit for third-rate talents.

    Can We Divorce Our Elites? | James Poulos | April 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • First-rate and third-rate works of the same size brought similar prices.

    Brave New Art World | Arne Glimcher | February 2, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • The north side is occupied by a row of seventeenth-century houses turned into shops and third-rate cafs.

    Belgium | George W. T. (George William Thomson) Omond
  • Through Brook Street to the upper Bohemian quarter, where third-rate music-hall artists appear.

    My Wonderful Visit | Charlie Chaplin
  • With either Mr. Shepard or Mr. Low elected, Tammany would dwindle—as one now beholds it—to be a third-rate influence.

British Dictionary definitions for third-rate

third-rate

adjective
  1. not of high quality; mediocre or inferior

Derived forms of third-rate

  • third-rater, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012