third-rate
Americanadjective
-
of the third rate, quality, or class.
-
distinctly inferior.
a third-rate performance.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of third-rate
First recorded in 1640–50
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.
For investors, the narrow decision sets up a potential third-rate rise this year at the Australian central bank’s next board meeting in May.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
The RCS review was "an appalling indictment" of a "third-rate" breast clinic service, according to Prof Fentiman.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2025
"I kind of ditched them. I started listening to what A&R or the record labels felt they had slots for. I was called a third-rate Pat Benatar. I was probably a fifth-rate Pat Benatar."
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2025
Today, it’s pumping out third-rate articles by AI-generated writers in a darkening corner of the internet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
Did we really think that little Mica, undefeated in its own third-rate league, could ever stand up to the big-city powerhouses around the state?
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
