variants
or less commonly sub-par
chiefly US
: below par: such as
a
: below a usual or normal level or standard
subpar attendance
a subpar performance
Why would a major football school fire a successful coach following a single subpar season?—
Jerry Kirshenbaum
Jerry KirshenbaumBecause of phylloxera, vineyards have been inconsistent and yielding subpar grapes.—James Laube
James Laube
b
golf
: having a score lower than par
His 19 birdies and two eagles gave him more subpar holes than anyone …—David Barrett
David Barrett… Augusta National never played easier. … Saturday's 30 subpar rounds broke a third-round tournament record …—John Garrity
John Garrity
Did you know?
Since sub- means "below", almost anything that fails to measure up to a traditional standard may be called subpar. So you may hear of subpar ratings for a TV show, subpar care at a nursing home, subpar attendance at a concert, or subpar work by a contractor. If you played a subpar round of golf, though, you needed more strokes than you should have.
Examples of subpar in a Sentence
the service at the restaurant was subpar, to say the least
Recent Examples on the Web
But those developments can’t fully mitigate a seriously subpar year from Mookie Betts, a step back by Freddie Freeman and Michael Conforto’s nightmare season in left.
—Tim Britton, New York Times, 28 July 2025
The old Grimes quarry according to evidence at trial was subpar, having been quarried and abandoned.
—Peter J Reilly, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
If the recent heat waves have drawn your attention to a subpar home cooling setup, consider one of Dyson's air purifier-fan combos.
—Sara Coughlin, SELF, 11 July 2025
Silent Bob in net Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was the Panthers’ star in an otherwise subpar game on Monday night.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for subpar
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Tim Britton, New York Times, 28 July 2025
The old Grimes quarry according to evidence at trial was subpar, having been quarried and abandoned.
—Peter J Reilly, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
If the recent heat waves have drawn your attention to a subpar home cooling setup, consider one of Dyson's air purifier-fan combos.
—Sara Coughlin, SELF, 11 July 2025
Silent Bob in net Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was the Panthers’ star in an otherwise subpar game on Monday night.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for subpar
Cite this Entry
“Subpar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subpar. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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