schlock

American  

[shlok] / ʃlɒk /

Or shlock

adjective

1. Also cheap; trashy.

   a schlock store.

---

noun

1. something of cheap or inferior quality; junk.

schlock British  

/ ʃlɒk /

noun

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

---

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”; slay ); development of the English sense is unclear

Example Sentences

Through all of its muddled schlock, Gyllenhaal’s film never once loses its distinctly feminine ambition, and that makes “The Bride!” a far more faithful “Frankenstein” adaptation than any made by a man.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026

That reality is going to one-up Griff and Doug’s efforts to make a simple schlock movie seems foreordained, yielding the signature line, “We came here to make ‘Anaconda’ and now we’re in it!”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 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

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

From Slate • Oct. 29, 2023

They all have the right attitude: They understand the history of schlock and they respect the pleasures of the ridiculous.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2023