third-rate

[ thurd-reyt ]

adjective

1. of the third rate, quality, or class.
2. distinctly inferior:

   a third-rate performance.

third-rate

adjective

1. not of high quality; mediocre or inferior

Derived Forms

• ˈthird-ˈrater, noun

Other Words From

• third-rater noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of third-rate¹

First recorded in 1640–50

Example Sentences

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

From The Daily Beast

First-rate and third-rate works of the same size brought similar prices.

From The Daily Beast

The north side is occupied by a row of seventeenth-century houses turned into shops and third-rate cafs.

From Project Gutenberg

Through Brook Street to the upper Bohemian quarter, where third-rate music-hall artists appear.

From Project Gutenberg

With either Mr. Shepard or Mr. Low elected, Tammany would dwindle—as one now beholds it—to be a third-rate influence.

From Project Gutenberg

There are too many cheap lawyers and third-rate politicians there.

From Project Gutenberg

At last they came to a third-rate house, when a rough, common-looking woman opened the door and shutter.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• miserable
• rotten
• second-rate
• shabby