subsidiary
Americanadjective
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serving to assist or supplement; auxiliary; supplementary.
-
subordinate or secondary.
subsidiary issues.
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of or relating to a subsidiary.
noun
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a subsidiary thing or person.
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Music. a subordinate theme or subject.
adjective
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serving to aid or supplement; auxiliary
-
of lesser importance; subordinate in function
noun
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a person who or thing that is subsidiary
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short for subsidiary company
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of subsidiary
1535–45; < Latin subsidiārius, equivalent to subsidi ( um ) ( see subsidy) + -ārius -ary
Explanation
If a company belongs to another company, then the owned company is a subsidiary. When a large company bought your small business, you became a subsidiary. It still hurts to call them the parent company, since you publish novels and they make toilet paper. The adjective form of subsidiary describes something that is of secondary importance or that functions in a supporting capacity. In addition to running the band program, you're a member of several subsidiary committees like the fund raising committee and the hospitality committee. Traffic on the road was light when you drove outside the city, but as more subsidiary roads joined with the main one, traffic quickly became congested.
Vocabulary lists containing subsidiary
Power Prefix: sub-
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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.
Subsidiary Atomic Alchemy secured a license to begin sales from its radiochemistry laboratory in Idaho, and noted that its first isotope customer was “pending.”
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Subsidiary New Line Cinema has franchise installments, including “The Conjuring: Last Rites” and a “Mortal Kombat” sequel.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2025
Subsidiary agreements that will determine how the U.S. military and civilian contractors come into PNG are being worked out, he said.
From Reuters • May 23, 2023
Subsidiary Ant Group was on the verge of a multibillion-dollar stock market debut in November when regulators ordered that suspended.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 21, 2021
Subsidiary to the dukedom of York the title was held by Richard, and after his death in 1460 by his son Edward, afterwards King Edward IV., becoming extinct on the fall of the Yorkist dynasty.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 1 "Calhoun" to "Camoens" by Various
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.
