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subprime

[ suhb-prahym ]

/ sʌbˈpraɪm /

adjective

being of less than top quality: a subprime grade of steel.

being below a prime rate: banks engaging in subprime lending.

Origin of subprime

sub- + prime

Words nearby subprime

subpoena duces tecum, subpolar, subpopulation, subpotency, subprimal, subprime, subprincipal, subprofessional, subprogram, subpubic angle, subpurlin

Example sentences from the Web for subprime

Eventually, Cuomo entered the Clinton administration, and as HUD secretary sowed the seeds of the subprime mortgage catastrophe.

Andrew Cuomo’s Do-Gooders Done Wrong |Lloyd Green |July 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
“These are not subprime mortgages,” he said of his portfolio that stretched from shipyards to oil rigs.

The Rise And Fall Of Brazilian Billionaire Eike Batista |Mac Margolis |November 9, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Hedge funds it owned, which had employed vast leverage to bet on subprime bonds, loudly blew up in the summer of 2007.

Let’s All Stop Feeling Sorry for JPMorgan Chase Having to Pay Billions |Daniel Gross |October 21, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
“Right after the subprime mortgage crisis, it was all really up in the air,” he says.

Ramen Burger’s Inventor Talks About the Food Craze Eclipsing the Cronut |Marlow Stern |August 9, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

Imagine, for instance: We had a governor of New York who was looking into the subprime mortgages, in D.C. testifying on that.

Daniel Ellsberg: Edward Snowden Is a Hero and We Need More Whistleblowers |Daniel Ellsberg |June 10, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for subprime

subprime

/ (ˈsʌbˌpraɪm) US /

adjective

(of a loan) made to a borrower with a poor credit rating, usually at a high rate of interest

noun

a loan made to a borrower with a poor credit rating