Showing results for subgenre. Search instead for subgenres.

subgenre

American

[suhb-zhahn-ruh, -zhahn-r^uh] / ˈsʌbˌʒɑn rə, -ˌʒɑ̃ rə /

noun

a lesser or subordinate genre.

a subgenre of popular fiction.

subgenre British

/ ˈsʌbˌʒɑːnrə /

noun

a category that is a subdivision of a larger genre

"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

Etymology

Origin of subgenre

sub- + genre

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.

This current boom of house reality mirrors some of the most popular reality TV of the ’90s and early 2000s, when the subgenre first found its audience.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

Meanwhile, culinary competition is its own highly prolific reality TV subgenre.

From Salon • Jan. 30, 2026

Slowcore is a subgenre of indie rock characterised by its slow tempos, minimal arrangements, and melancholic atmosphere.

From BBC • Oct. 26, 2025

These EPs are part of a growing subgenre of jazz and hip-hop hybrids from musicians who grew up loving both genres.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025

And there is a whole subgenre of ancestor research—sons and daughters flying to New York clutching scrapbooks, tracking down letters of indenture, photographs, birth certificates.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023