junk bonds

Cultural

Technically known as bonds of “less than investment grade,” they are short-term, high-yield bonds. They were widely used in the 1980s to finance mergers, especially hostile ones.

Example Sentences

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Yet junk bonds might prove more resilient than their loan peers in the speculative credit market in rocky times ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

The move could kick off a trend of data centers funded by junk bonds — debt issued by companies too financially shaky to be rated investment-grade by the ratings agencies.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 8, 2025

These investments generally entail floating junk bonds, a business pioneered by Drexel Burnham in the 1980s.

From Barron's • Oct. 24, 2025

But the debt yielded 6.58% at issue, a level more common in junk bonds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025

Fixed-income investors tend to be attracted to junk bonds because of their fat yields, which are much higher than other bonds to compensate for lower credit quality and greater credit risks.

From Barron's • Oct. 9, 2025

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023