subside
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
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to become less loud, excited, violent, etc; abate
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to sink or fall to a lower level
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(of the surface of the earth, etc) to cave in; collapse
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(of sediment, etc) to sink or descend to the bottom; settle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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subsidesimple
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subsidessimple
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have subsidedperfect
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has subsidedperfect
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am subsidingprogressive
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are subsidingprogressive
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is subsidingprogressive
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have been subsidingperfect progressive
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has been subsidingperfect progressive
Past
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subsidedsimple
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had subsidedperfect
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was subsidingprogressive
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were subsidingprogressive
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had been subsidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of subside
First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin subsīdere, from sub- sub- + sīdere “to sit down, settle” ( see also sit 1)
Explanation
To subside is to die down or become less violent, like rough ocean waves after a storm has passed (or your seasickness, if you happened to be sailing on that ocean). Subside comes from the Latin prefix sub- (meaning "down") and the Latin verb sidere (meaning "to settle"). Subside is often used when a negative situation has improved significantly. For example, violence, disease, and unemployment can all subside. Here's hoping that they do.
Vocabulary lists containing subside
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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.
See Examples For:
The high temperatures have begun to subside in Spain, however a forest fire broke out north-east of Barcelona forcing 16,000 to stay in their homes on Friday morning.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Should the inflation rate subside, mortgage rates could also take a dip,” Yun said in a written statement.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026
Soon enough, the fires subside and we cart my grandparents back across town to their apartment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
But the brashest experiments in cut-rate flying might subside for years, given shortages of pilots, airport slots, and just about everything else they depend upon.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
“I was at ... eejit pens,” Matt said, and paused to let the pain in his throat subside.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
Fed officials would typically look through this oil shock because, presumably, when the latest conflict in the Middle East subsides, the inflationary surge will abate as well.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
When the fighting subsides, he expects the broadening of performance in the stock market to resume.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026
He said Angeles will likely still maintain some exposure to international markets once the conflict subsides, but for now the war has made it nearly impossible to make a confident call.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
He is banking that the firm will be helped by wider trends, as general inflation recedes, and the price of coffee, which has soared in recent years, subsides a little.
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026
They hold it near her until her coughing subsides.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Yet she and her husband would still celebrate the holiday with a traditional barbecue -- but later in the evening after the heat subsided.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
When Archer fended the second new ball to slip off Smith, England quickly subsided.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
And his passion for the sport never subsided after he left for the U.S. following the revolution in 1979.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
These claims have gradually subsided since hitting a postpandemic peak of nearly 2 million one year ago.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
When the laughter subsided, I said, "So William was expelled?"
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
A new study published in Nature finds that many of the world's largest river deltas are subsiding more quickly than global sea levels are rising, putting hundreds of millions of people at potential risk.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 20, 2026
Pakistan would likely gain a measure of relief from subsiding Sunni-Shiite tensions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
While the pullback is “healthy”—Rigetti remains up nearly 100% this year—“volatility looks to be subsiding, and we encourage investors to be opportunistic buyers on further weakness as the next catalysts develop,” Williams wrote.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025
One year later, our trauma not subsiding, we decided to keep the phantom bugs starving in the BB bag and buy another Rimowa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2025
"I'm glad you and I are friends, Lev," I say, the tingling in my foot finally subsiding.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
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.
