subordinate clause

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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.

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Also called de·pend·ent clause .

Compare main clause.

Words nearby subordinate clause

suborbital, suborder, subordinal, subordinary, subordinate, subordinate clause, subordinated, subordinated debt, subordinating conjunction, subordination, subordinationism

How to use subordinate clause in a sentence

They would not, for example, supersede federal law regarding the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment.
A Field General in the War on Christmas|David Freedlander|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That is where the subordinate gangs like Big Hazard come in.
The Mexican Mafia Is the Daddy of All Street Gangs|Seth Ferranti|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Indeed, the committee is composed of pastors who are subordinate to Driscoll and were not elected by their fellow pastors.
Another Mega Church Implodes|Warren Throckmorton|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sanford hits back at Sullivan, who “has certainly not lived up to this clause.”
Mark Sanford’s Epic Facebook Overshare|Olivia Nuzzi|September 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Weird as the theory is, invoking “quantum physics” is not an escape clause from obeying physical laws.
Dear NASA: Fuel-Free Rocket Thruster Is Literally Too Good to Be True|Matthew R. Francis|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bessires was included because he would never win it at any later date, but his doglike devotion made him a priceless subordinate.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
So far Murat had always held subordinate commands; his great ambition was to become the commander-in-chief of an independent army.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
He added that lessening clause, remembering, quite simply, how much more brilliant he was than Nigel.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
In 1800 Massna took his trusty subordinate with him to Italy as lieutenant-general of the centre of the army.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
An appeal by a member of a subordinate lodge from a vote of expulsion does not abate by his death while the appeal is pending.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles

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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012