subdominant

[ suhb-dom-uh-nuhnt ]

noun
  1. Music. the fourth tone of a diatonic scale, next below the dominant.

adjective
  1. less than or not quite dominant.

Origin of subdominant

1
First recorded in 1785–95; sub- + dominant

Words Nearby subdominant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use subdominant in a sentence

  • In the wild, killer whales vie for dominance but the subdominant animal then flees the scene and the conflict subsides.

  • The third movement consists of a fine Adagio in E flat, in the key of the subdominant and in three-four time.

    The Pianoforte Sonata | J.S. Shedlock
  • At the seventh bar there is modulation to the dominant, and at the ninth, to the subdominant, in which the opening theme recurs.

    The Pianoforte Sonata | J.S. Shedlock
  • The next sonata, No. 10 , has three movements, all in the same key; the Trio of the Minuet is in the key of the subdominant.

    The Pianoforte Sonata | J.S. Shedlock
  • When the principal theme returns, it is clothed first with subdominant, then with tonic minor harmony.

    The Pianoforte Sonata | J.S. Shedlock
  • The cadence formed when a subdominant chord immediately precedes the final tonic chord.

    The Browning Cyclopdia | Edward Berdoe

British Dictionary definitions for subdominant

subdominant

/ (sʌbˈdɒmɪnənt) music /


noun
  1. the fourth degree of a major or minor scale

  2. a key or chord based on this

adjective
  1. of or relating to the subdominant

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012