subpar
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of subpar
First recorded in 1895–1900; sub- ( def. ) + par 1 ( def. )
Explanation
Anything that's subpar is worse than average. When a football team has a subpar season, it is a huge letdown for their biggest fans. Subpar things just aren't up to their usual standards. Your subpar attendance at school may mean extra homework, and the math team's subpar showing at the district competition might keep them out of the state finals this year. In golf, subpar means a golfer had to hit the ball more times than expected to get it in the hole. Subpar is from sub-, or "under" and par, or "average," from a Latin root meaning "equality."
Vocabulary lists containing subpar
Chronically Dolores
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(S)Kin
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Lacking
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The hunger and economic strike began May 19, including at the Desert View Annex, a wing of the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where detainees alleged subpar conditions and inadequate medical care.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
She found its themes trite, and its prose subpar.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
The Dow Jones Transportation Average, seen as a proxy for the health of the U.S. economy, has been on a historic run lately following a protracted period of subpar returns.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026
The Occidental underperformance highlights Berkshire’s generally subpar U.S. stock picking—new buys and sells—over the past six or seven years.
From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026
“Yeah,” Lydia said, “but another year is a long time to eat subpar pizza.”
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
