I. |səb+ adjective
Etymology: sub- + standard
: deviating from or failing to attain to or qualify under some standard or norm: as
a.
(1) : of a quality lower than that specified as acceptable under a standard prescribed by law
substandard canned goods
(2) of housing : deficient in amenities (as sanitary accommodations, living space, safety facilities, or maintenance) in respect to a standard set by legal or other authoritative sources
b. : conforming to a pattern of linguistic usage existing within a speech community but not that of the prestige group in that community in choice of word (as set, for sit ), form of word (as brung, for brought ), pronunciation (as twicet, for twice ), grammatical construction (as the boys is growing fast), or idiom (as all to once, for all at once ) — compare nonstandard
c. : constituting a greater than normal chance of loss to an insurer due to some inherent and determinable cause (as poor health or unusual fire hazard)
a substandard life
a substandard risk
also : covering a substandard risk usually in return for an extra premium
substandard insurance
d. of motion-picture film : narrower than 35 millimeters
II. noun
Etymology: in sense 1, from sub- + standard, n.; in sense 2, from substandard (I)
1. : a secondary standard used in measurement and especially to check the accuracy of commercial measuring devices (as scales)
2. : something (as a way of living) that is substandard