subplot
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of subplot
Explanation
A secondary story in a book or movie, rather than the central narrative, is its subplot. Romeo and Juliet focuses on the main characters' love, but one of its many subplots is the rivalry between Mercutio and Tybalt. You can think of a subplot as a side story, something that seems a bit less important than the main plot but usually ties into it in some way. Almost all fiction has at least one subplot, from Inigo Montoya's desire for revenge in The Princess Bride to the comedic interactions of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Shakespeare's Hamlet. This literary term adds the prefix sub-, "under" or "smaller," to plot, "the main events of a story."
Vocabulary lists containing subplot
Narrative Writing, List 3
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STAAR English I: Elements of Literature
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STAAR English II: Elements of Literature 1
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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.
I don’t blame you for blissfully memory-holing this particular subplot.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Thursday’s actions marked the latest subplot in an unusually dramatic mid-August week for Wall Street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
The fact Roc Nation also represent Arsenal attacker Gabriel Martinelli - whose chances would be left severely limited by Vinicius' arrival - also makes for an intriguing subplot.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Later in the movie, Raul’s former assistant critiques his script, suggesting he remove a subplot he took from her personal life.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
A subplot deals with the attachment between the girl and her maidservant.
From Checklist A complete, cumulative Checklist of lesbian, variant and homosexual fiction, in English or available in English translation, with supplements of related material, for the use of collectors, students and librarians. by Marion Zimmer Bradley
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.
