subprime

adjective

sub·​prime ˈsəb-ˌprīm 

1

: having or being an interest rate that is higher than a prime rate and is extended chiefly to a borrower who has a poor credit rating or is judged to be a potentially high risk for default (as due to low income)

subprime mortgages

a subprime loan

2

: extending or obtaining a subprime loan

subprime lenders

subprime borrowers

Examples of subprime in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But something similar has happened before: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau centralized various agencies’ responsibilities into one independent organization after a raft of subprime mortgages led to the financial crisis of 2008. —Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2025

The last time Americans' expectations about the economy were this low (65.2) the U.S. was slowly emerging from the Great Recession and the aftershocks of the subprime crisis. —Jim Sergent, USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2025

Trump drastically limited the operations of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the banking watchdog created after the subprime mortgage meltdown and the 2008 global financial crisis. —Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 18 Mar. 2025

The economic spiral that followed the subprime mortgage meltdown, dubbed the Great Recession, proved devastating for millions of Americans and caused cascading economic problems around the world. —Kate Gibson, CBS News, 12 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1995, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for subprime

• airtime
• bedtime
• daytime
• downtime
• enzyme
• halftime
• lifetime
• longtime
• lunchtime
• mealtime
• meantime
• nighttime

Legal Definition

subprime

adjective

sub·​prime ˈsəb-ˌprīm 

1

: having or being an interest rate that is higher than a prime rate and is extended especially to low-income borrowers

subprime mortgages

2

: extending or obtaining a subprime loan

subprime lenders

subprime borrowers