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

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

Yet those aren’t rates that subprime borrowers will be offered, Triggs said. —Sharon Epperson,stephanie Dhue, CNBC, 20 Feb. 2026

This is especially a problem among subprime borrowers, those with weaker credit scores. —Matt Egan, CNN Money, 5 Feb. 2026

High interest rates, meanwhile, have saddled credit card borrowers, while subprime loans have surged and a record number of Americans have fallen behind on auto payments. —Trevor Bach, Dallas Morning News, 26 Jan. 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