schlock

American  

[shlok] / ʃlɒk /

Or shlock

adjective

1. Also cheap; trashy.

   a schlock store.

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noun

1. something of cheap or inferior quality; junk.

schlock British  

/ ʃlɒk /

noun

1. goods or produce of cheap or inferior quality; trash

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adjective

1. cheap, inferior, or trashy

Etymology

Origin of schlock

First recorded in 1910–15; apparently from Yiddish shlak “apoplectic stroke, evil, nuisance, wretch” (compare Middle High German slac(g) “blow”; see slay); development of the English sense is unclear

Explanation

Schlock is cheap, shoddy stuff that's for sale. You might browse through a gift shop hoping to buy the perfect memento, but find nothing but schlock. Schlock isn't made well, and it's not really worth much. It's an informal word for trashy, junky merchandise — or trashy, low-rent movies, TV shows, or other entertainment. Your grandmother might gasp, "Why are you watching that schlock?" when she sees the terrible reality show you've got on the television. The North American schlock comes from the Yiddish word shlak, "a stroke" or "junk," from the German Schlacke, "dregs," "slag," or "refuse."

Example Sentences

For those who think of late-career Elvis Presley as only a plump has-been, a gaudy Las Vegas crooner slinging schlock in the 1970s, Baz Luhrmann’s new movie is a bracing corrective.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

From the 1950s through the ’70s, he elevated schlock to an art form with films like “The Little Shop of Horrors” and his vividly stylized Edgar Allan Poe adaptations starring Vincent Price.

From Salon • Oct. 27, 2025

The "AI schlock", as McDonald puts it, was evidently not in Foley's "Texas singer-songwriter from the heart" style.

From BBC • Aug. 22, 2025

There have been many approaches to this material, from farcical comedy to jolly schlock to art film.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2024

Hilariously, what that means is I am often served ads for this schlock:

From Slate • Oct. 29, 2023