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Synonyms

low-rent

American  
[loh-rent] / ˈloʊˈrɛnt /

adjective

  1. Informal. second-rate; bargain-basement.

low-rent British  

adjective

  1. informal cheap and inferior

    low-rent films
"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

Etymology

Origin of low-rent

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He never married, has no children, no savings and no retirement, does not own a home and is currently unemployed, living in a small apartment in a low-rent area of a large Southern city.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026

The Board of Peace is mutating into something like a low-rent version of the U.N.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

What used to be a working-class, bohemian, low-rent neighborhood is now one of the most sought-after areas in the city.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 4, 2025

They are serviced through low-rent "dark stores" - or small shops dedicated to delivery and not open to the public - in densely populated areas, enabling economies of scale.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2025

But when a law school classmate, Charles Bliss, moved to Atlanta for a job with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, we realized that if we pooled our meager salaries, we could afford a low-rent apartment.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.