subsidy

American  

[suhb-si-dee] / ˈsʌb sɪ di /

noun

• subsidies
  plural

1. a direct pecuniary aid furnished by a government to a private industrial undertaking, a charity organization, or the like.

2. a sum paid, often in accordance with a treaty, by one government to another to secure some service in return.

3. a grant or contribution of money.

4. money formerly granted by the English Parliament to the crown for special needs.

---

subsidy British  

/ ˈsʌbsɪdɪ /

noun

1. a financial aid supplied by a government, as to industry, for reasons of public welfare, the balance of payments, etc

2. English history a financial grant made originally for special purposes by Parliament to the Crown

3. any monetary contribution, grant, or aid

---

subsidy Cultural  

1. A grant made by a government to some individual or business in order to maintain an acceptable standard of living or to stimulate economic growth.

---

Usage

What does subsidy mean? A subsidy is a direct payment made by a government to a company or other organization as a form of assistance. To grant subsidies is to subsidize, and the process of doing so is subsidization. Governments that grant subsidies often provide them for particular industries, such as farming. The word is most commonly used to refer to such payments. More generally, subsidy can refer to any grant or monetary contribution. More specifically, it can refer to a payment made by one government to another for a particular service, often according to a treaty. Example: My company received a government subsidy to help expedite the manufacturing of healthcare products.

Synonym Usage

Subsidy, subvention are both grants of money, especially governmental, to aid private undertakings. A subsidy is usually given to promote commercial enterprise: a subsidy to manufacturers during a war. A subvention is usually a grant to stimulate enterprises connected with science and the arts: a subvention to a research chemist by a major company.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antisubsidy
  noun
• nonsubsidy
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• subsidies
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of subsidy

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English subsidie, from Anglo-French, from Latin subsidium “auxiliary force, reserve, help,” equivalent to sub- sub- + sid-, combining form of sedēre “to sit” ( see sit ¹) + -ium -ium

---

Explanation

A subsidy is a grant of financial assistance. Many school districts, for example, offer a subsidy to low-income families for book fees and lunch costs. The family pays a set amount and the district makes up the difference. The noun subsidy comes from French and Latin roots that mean "help and aid." Subsidies are most often offered by the government, but individuals can offer subsidies as well. "The parents offered to give a subsidy for students to go on the ski trip. The deal was that if the kids earned half the money, the parents would pay for the other half."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

subsidy subsidies

In the years since World War II, as steel production slowed and agriculture became one big subsidy, untimely ends became one of the few things you could still expect the U.S. to make itself.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

Hynes says: "In an industry with high fixed costs, the best way of getting the subsidy down is to go for growth."

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Tinubu, who is seeking a second term, pushed through sweeping economic reforms when he came into office in 2023, including scrapping a major fuel subsidy and floating the naira.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

That implied that the effect of the subsidy terminations had slowed, in the view of market analysts at Cox Automotive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

For this reason, it is absolutely against his wishes that parties in Iceland and elsewhere should provide financial subsidy for the production of this film or should show it once completed.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

If the UK is outside the new rules, China could divert its excess car production to the UK, where, like Thailand, there are currently lower tariffs and even subsidies.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

But the longer oil prices stay high, the more governments have to weigh cutting the subsidies, risking popular unrest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Singapore rolled out subsidies for haze-related medical treatment from Monday, a measure last activated in 2015 when similar blazes in Indonesia cloaked Southeast Asia in toxic smoke for weeks.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

The final cost will depend on your income, location, plan and eligibility for subsidies.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

He also knew that there were services that he could use until he was twenty-one: rent and food subsidies, possible scholarships for school, job assistance.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• aid
• allowance
• appropriation
• assistance
• bonus
• contribution
• endowment
• financial aid
• gift
• grant
• payment
• pension
• premium
• scholarship
• support

---