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

The housing market was about to collapse due to risky subprime loans. —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2026

In an email, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson who did not provide their name rejected claims of subprime conditions, saying Camp East Montana detainees receive food, water and medical treatment in a facility that is regularly cleaned. —ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026

Investors initially flooded the market after the subprime mortgage crash that led to the Great Recession. —Diana Olick, CNBC, 4 Mar. 2026

There is insight into other historical financial disasters (a scene involving the stock market crash of 1929 is particularly haunting), but not much mention of the impacts of Reaganomics in the 1980s, and the late 2000s dynamics of subprime mortgages and home foreclosures. —David John Chávez, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026

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