subordinate clause
noun Grammar.
a clause that modifies the principal clause or some part of it or that serves a noun function in the principal clause, as when she arrived in the sentence I was there when she arrived or that she has arrived in the sentence I doubt that she has arrived.
Nearby words
suborbital, suborder, subordinal, subordinary, subordinate, subordinate clause, subordinated, subordinated debt, subordinating conjunction, subordination, subordinationism
Compare main clause.
Also called de·pend·ent clause.
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for subordinate clause
subordinate clause
noun
grammar a clause with an adjectival, adverbial, or nominal function, rather than one that functions as a separate sentence in its own rightCompare coordinate clause, main clause
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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