subprime
Americanadjective
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being of less than top quality.
a subprime grade of steel.
-
being below a prime rate.
banks engaging in subprime lending.
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of subprime
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.
In 1987, it was portfolio insurance, while subprime lending sank the market in 2008.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Accounting for asset write-downs, corporate failures and diminution of wealth, the dot-com and subprime losses are estimated at around $5-6 trillion and perhaps $15-20 trillion, respectively.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
In March of 2006 for instance, it put out a paper titled “Prime or Not So Prime” that detailed the risks posed by the securitization of subprime loans in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Estimates put the average subprime auto-loan payment at $448 a month and a 15.5% interest rate in 2019, when looking at loans in bond deals.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
Eisman no longer needed to guess exactly when the subprime mortgage market would crash.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
