Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

subprime

/ˈsʌb.pɹaɪm/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.75 in modern English

Syllables: sub-prime
IPA: /ˈsʌb.pɹaɪm/

14

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Less than prime; inferior.

adj

Designating a loan (typically at a greater than usual rate of interest) offered to a borrower who is not qualified for other loans (for example, because of a poor credit history).

American usage

adj

Designating a type of commercial lending rate, less than the prime rate, offered to desirable borrowers.

American usage; Dated

noun

A subprime loan.

Example Sentences

"subprime beef"
"Central to the story was Steve Eisman, an eccentric and rebarbative hedge-funder who was one of the earliest to see through the subprime lies."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub-der. English sub- English prime English subprime From sub- + prime.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈsʌb.pɹaɪm/
British English: /ˈsʌb.pɹʌɪm/

Usage

American usage
Dated

Inflected Forms

subprimes (plural)

Antonyms

superprime

Questions

How do you pronounce subprime?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsʌb.pɹaɪm/.
What does subprime mean?: Less than prime; inferior.
Where does subprime come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub-der. English sub- English prime English subprime From sub- + prime.

How to pronounce subprime

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsʌb.pɹaɪm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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