subclass
Americannoun
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a primary division of a class.
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a subordinate class, especially one of persons who lack the rights and privileges of the primary class.
a subclass of migrant workers.
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Biology. a category of related orders within a class.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a principal subdivision of a class
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biology a taxonomic group that is a subdivision of a class
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maths another name for subset
verb
Etymology
Origin of subclass
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.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor further questioned during that oral argument what percentage of the population a subclass accounts for would make it meaningful.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
“Call you outcast, low down, you can’t make it, you’re nothing, you’re from nobody, subclass, underclass; when you see Jesse Jackson, when my name goes in nomination, your name goes in nomination.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026
The results, published in Cell Reports Medicine on Feb. 23, suggested that this "gene signature" could be used to identify a subclass of lung tumors that is more likely to be eradicated by immunotherapies.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2024
Obviously, then, we will find ourselves not in a “typical” lifeless universe, but in a “special” member of the multiverse—one belonging to that subclass of universes that allow life to emerge and evolve.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 19, 2023
If a title having indented species under it has a number, it not only represents a subject to be divided but also a subclass including all other species not falling within the indented titles.
From The Classification of Patents by United States Patent Office
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.
