Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Relating to loans that have a high interest rate and high risk of default.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Less than prime; inferior.
  • adjective US, banking (now worldwide) Designating a loan (typically at a greater than usual rate of interest) offered to a borrower who is not qualified for other loans (e.g. because of poor credit history).
  • adjective US, banking (dated) Designating a type of commercial lending rate, less than the prime rate, offered to desirable borrowers.
  • noun A subprime loan.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[sub– + prime (from the fact that loans with high interest rates are offered to nonpreferred or less creditworthy borrowers).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

sub- +‎ prime

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word subprime.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • The American Dialect Society's word of the year for 2007.

    January 7, 2008

  • It's baaaa-ack...

    February 8, 2009