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

While auto loan delinquencies are still concentrated in subprime, prime delinquencies are also above pre-Covid levels, the firm said. —Michelle Fox, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2024

Since Volcker’s tenure, the Fed has steered the nation through financial crises, a dot-com bubble, a subprime mortgage crash, and populist threats from the likes of former President Donald Trump. —Sebastian Mallaby, Foreign Affairs, 30 June 2021

Paulson made his fortune — his net worth currently stands at $3.8 billion, per Forbes — by betting against subprime mortgages during the 2007 credit bubble. —William Gavin, Quartz, 30 Oct. 2024

Its turnaround coincided with the arrival of a new leadership team that had a long history in subprime auto loans — and in aggressively granting financially shaky borrowers multiple extensions. —Byard Duncan, ProPublica, 17 Oct. 2024

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