subprime

[suhb-prahym]

adjective

1. being of less than top quality.

   a subprime grade of steel.

2. being below a prime rate.

   banks engaging in subprime lending.

subprime

/ ˈsʌbˌpraɪm /

adjective

1. (of a loan) made to a borrower with a poor credit rating, usually at a high rate of interest

noun

1. a loan made to a borrower with a poor credit rating

Word History and Origins

Origin of subprime¹

sub- + prime

Example Sentences

Department of Homeland Security officials have previously told The Times that “any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are false.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Before the financial crisis of 2008, Black women were already getting higher rates of subprime loans and people didn’t address it,” added Opoku-Agyeman, the author of The Double Tax: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid.

From Slate

Freed from the New Deal Banking Act’s restraint on speculation, investment banks began engaging in predatory lending of subprime mortgages and aggressive marketing of mortgage-backed securities, producing a profit-taking craze that came crashing down in the Great Recession of 2007-2009.

From Salon

The spokesperson told me by email, “Any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are false.”

From Los Angeles Times

Subprime 2.0 has manifested, and crypto’s the culprit.

From Slate