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

“The Lost Boys,” a musical spun from Joel Schumacher’s 1987 horror comedy, won me over despite my antipathy to vampire schlock.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

“Hag” sits smack-dab at the center of a four-way intersection between camp, arthouse, schlock and retro TV movie of the week.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

If you think of late-career Elvis Presley as only a plump and gaudy Las Vegas crooner slinging schlock in the 1970s, you’re about to get all shook up.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

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