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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The zero down payment mortgage could conjure up bad memories of the subprime mortgage crisis, which was driven in part by shoddy lending standards. 
Matt Egan And Anna Bahney, CNN, 1 Sep. 2022 Vacancy rates slowly fell in the 1990s, but surged again after the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the subprime mortgage crisis. Konrad Putzier, WSJ, 23 Aug. 2022 Some analysts say the situation looks frighteningly similar to the subprime mortgage crisis that led to the Great Recession in 2007-09. Don Leestaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2022 Black residents were even more likely to be targeted for subprime mortgages that led to foreclosures following the 2008 housing crisis. Talis Shelbourne, Journal Sentinel, 26 July 2022 Consumer car loan delinquencies have started to tick higher, particularly for young and subprime debtors. Don Leestaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2022 On Tuesday, the economist Nouriel Roubini, whose warnings prior to the subprime-mortgage crisis earned him the nickname Dr. Doom, predicted that a recession would begin before the end of 2022. John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 22 June 2022 Fewer people are in subprime credit-score brackets than when the pandemic began. Annamaria Andriotis, WSJ, 19 May 2022 The Great Recession, which ran from December 2007 to June 2009, was caused by a financial-industry meltdown tied to the subprime mortgage fiasco. oregonlive, 19 Apr. 2022 See More
Matt Egan And Anna Bahney, CNN, 1 Sep. 2022 Vacancy rates slowly fell in the 1990s, but surged again after the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the subprime mortgage crisis. Konrad Putzier, WSJ, 23 Aug. 2022 Some analysts say the situation looks frighteningly similar to the subprime mortgage crisis that led to the Great Recession in 2007-09. Don Leestaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2022 Black residents were even more likely to be targeted for subprime mortgages that led to foreclosures following the 2008 housing crisis. Talis Shelbourne, Journal Sentinel, 26 July 2022 Consumer car loan delinquencies have started to tick higher, particularly for young and subprime debtors. Don Leestaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2022 On Tuesday, the economist Nouriel Roubini, whose warnings prior to the subprime-mortgage crisis earned him the nickname Dr. Doom, predicted that a recession would begin before the end of 2022. John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 22 June 2022 Fewer people are in subprime credit-score brackets than when the pandemic began. Annamaria Andriotis, WSJ, 19 May 2022 The Great Recession, which ran from December 2007 to June 2009, was caused by a financial-industry meltdown tied to the subprime mortgage fiasco. oregonlive, 19 Apr. 2022 See More 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