low-rent

[ loh-rent ]

adjective

1. Informal. second-rate; bargain-basement.

low-rent

adjective

1. informal.
   cheap and inferior

   low-rent films

Word History and Origins

Origin of low-rent¹

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Their costumes are so low-rent they’ve spurred memes of their own.

From Slate

As a result, some taxpayer dollars contribute to raising rent, while other public funds flow to create low-rent units — mostly by building new, income-restricted homes.

From Los Angeles Times

The concept of the series, which aired in the 1970s and ’80s, was that its sketches were “shows” for a low-rent TV station in a fictional town called Melonville.

From New York Times

Staples is set upon by costumed characters at a low-rent amusement park, finds himself running for his life from someone he offended in high school and in the middle of a bank robbery conducted by old friends who are happy to see him.

From Los Angeles Times

But Mr. DeKrey wrote that people who had tried to capitalize on the theft were not “some cast of low-rent criminals trying to get paid. It was people with real juice, whose associations included organized crime and the federal government.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• indifferent
• lousy
• mediocre
• substandard