subdominant

[suhb-dom-uh-nuh nt]

noun

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

adjective

less than or not quite dominant.

Origin of subdominant

First recorded in 1785–95; sub- + dominant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for subdominant

Contemporary Examples of subdominant

In the wild, killer whales vie for dominance but the subdominant animal then flees the scene and the conflict subsides.
‘Blackfish’ Director: Killer Whales Don’t Belong in Captivity
Gabriela Cowperthwaite
October 24, 2013

Historical Examples of subdominant

There were no fourths; the dominant and the subdominant were absent.
A Bed of Roses
W. L. George
At that point the suggested supporting harmony is an augmented triad upon the tonic leading into the subdominant.
The Tinguian
Fay-Cooper Cole
The main theme at its third appearance is in the subdominant key, with effective rhythmic modifications.
Music: An Art and a Language
Walter Raymond Spalding
The genus Mele affords an instance of a subdominant group of the first description.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. IV (of 4)
William Kirby
We may take Scolia for an example of a subdominant group beginning more southward.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. IV (of 4)
William Kirby

British Dictionary definitions for subdominant

subdominant

noun

the fourth degree of a major or minor scale
a key or chord based on this

adjective

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