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

Especially vulnerable are the one-third of lower-income American adults with subprime or near-prime credit scores — especially younger workers, people rebuilding after a financial setback, or those who temporarily lose a job. —Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 16 Apr. 2026

The stock market hit a bottom in the midst of the global financial crisis, brought in part by the subprime mortgage crisis. —Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026

ARMs may have gotten a bit of a bad rap during the subprime crisis, when mortgage lenders were offering – and borrowers gladly taking – all kinds of exotic loan products. —Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2026

Rodgers, Zemaitis and Chandrasekhar all left Santander Consumer and are currently listed as senior executives at Exeter Finance, a subprime car lender where a number of top Santander Consumer employees have landed. —Conrad Wilson, ProPublica, 25 Mar. 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