Third-rate
adjective
Of low quality or poor standard.
He got a job at a third-rate company because of his poor academic performance.
Often appears as...
- third-rate actor
- third-rate hotel
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
Of low quality or poor standard.
He got a job at a third-rate company because of his poor academic performance.
Often appears as...
- third-rate actor
- third-rate hotel
Usage tips
Disapproving
Definition 1 of 1
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Implication
Carries a critical tone, often suggesting something is below expected standards.
The play received third-rate reviews for its uninspired performance.
Pro Tip 2/3Cultural Connotation
In some cultures, calling something 'third-rate' can be seen as very disrespectful or insulting.
Referring to their traditions as third-rate customs provoked outrage in the community.
Pro Tip 3/3Subjectivity
What one may consider 'third-rate', another might find acceptable; it's subjective.
She deemed the restaurant third-rate, though others praised its homely cooking.
Compare with
amateurishinferiormediocrepoorsatisfactorysecond-rateshoddysubstandard
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Video examples
How to get your ideas to...
it's always some third-rate movie with some second-rate star. But the reason it's number one is because that's the week it came out. Because it's new, because it's fresh. People saw it and said "I didn't know that was there" and they noticed it. Two of the big success stories of the last 20 years in retail --
Video examples
How to get your ideas to...
it's always some third-rate movie with some second-rate star. But the reason it's number one is because that's the week it came out. Because it's new, because it's fresh. People saw it and said "I didn't know that was there" and they noticed it. Two of the big success stories of the last 20 years in retail --
Example 1 of 1
Quote examples
Joshua Oppenheimer
British Director
We are constantly - in order to cope with painful realities - shuffling through third-rate, half-remembered fantasies taken from movies, from TV, from people we admire. We do this individually, we do it collectively - we tell stories to escape our most painful truths.
Quote examples
Nina Simone
American Musician
The protest years were over, not just for me but for a whole generation, and in music, just like in politics, many of the greatest talents were dead or in exile, and their place was filled by third-rate imitators.
Quote examples
William Wyler
American Director
I'm delighted that 'The Sound of Music' is doing so well. Of course, it's an infallible piece of material. Even when second- and third-rate road companies were doing the play, they did enormous business.
Quote examples
A. A. Milne
English Author
The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.
Quote examples
David Harsanyi
American Journalist
Whether you're a believer or not, a flawed biblical epic is going to be more entertaining than a remake of a Paul Verhoeven movie or some third-rate sci-fi flick.
Quote examples
Sarah Waters
Welsh Novelist
I knew I'd always be a second-rate academic, and I thought, 'Well, I'd rather be a second-rate novelist or even a third-rate one'.
Quote examples
George T. Conway III
American Lawyer
The underlying crime in Watergate was a clumsy, third-rate burglary in an election campaign that turned out to be a landslide.
Quote examples
Subramanian Swamy
Indian Politician
Chidamabaram has ruined the economy. He has turned out to be a third-rate failure as finance minister.
Quote examples
Leo Rosten
American Novelist
First-rate people hire first-rate people; second-rate people hire third-rate people.
Quote examples
Richard Painter
American Lawyer
Watergate was a third-rate burglary. It was purely domestic in nature.
Quote examples
Joshua Oppenheimer
British Director
We are constantly - in order to cope with painful realities - shuffling through third-rate, half-remembered fantasies taken from movies, from TV, from people we admire. We do this individually, we do it collectively - we tell stories to escape our most painful truths.
Quote examples
Nina Simone
American Musician
The protest years were over, not just for me but for a whole generation, and in music, just like in politics, many of the greatest talents were dead or in exile, and their place was filled by third-rate imitators.
Quote examples
William Wyler
American Director
I'm delighted that 'The Sound of Music' is doing so well. Of course, it's an infallible piece of material. Even when second- and third-rate road companies were doing the play, they did enormous business.
Quote examples
A. A. Milne
English Author
The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.
Quote examples
David Harsanyi
American Journalist
Whether you're a believer or not, a flawed biblical epic is going to be more entertaining than a remake of a Paul Verhoeven movie or some third-rate sci-fi flick.
Quote examples
Sarah Waters
Welsh Novelist
I knew I'd always be a second-rate academic, and I thought, 'Well, I'd rather be a second-rate novelist or even a third-rate one'.
Quote examples
George T. Conway III
American Lawyer
The underlying crime in Watergate was a clumsy, third-rate burglary in an election campaign that turned out to be a landslide.
Quote examples
Subramanian Swamy
Indian Politician
Chidamabaram has ruined the economy. He has turned out to be a third-rate failure as finance minister.
Quote examples
Leo Rosten
American Novelist
First-rate people hire first-rate people; second-rate people hire third-rate people.
Quote examples
Richard Painter
American Lawyer
Watergate was a third-rate burglary. It was purely domestic in nature.
Example 1 of 10
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