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

Well, it’s been driven by the swing in mortgage rates and the impact of the subprime mortgage boom. —Sean Conlon, CNBC, 10 July 2024

What, exactly, did the implosion of U.S. subprime mortgage markets expose? —Adam Tooze, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2018

His parting comments, in retrospect, were early warning flares about the next market crisis, the bursting of the subprime mortgage bubble that sent stocks plunging and triggered a global financial meltdown beginning in 2007. —Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 14 June 2024

The Fed took little action after the bank BNP Paribas suspended three of its funds in August 2007 owing to troubles in the subprime mortgage market, or in the months that followed, as several U.S.-based lenders failed or were taken over. —Adam S. Posen, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015

Word History

First Known Use

1995, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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