subplot

American  

[suhb-plot] / ˈsʌbˌplɒt /

noun

1. a secondary or subordinate plot, as in a play, novel, or other literary work; underplot.

---

subplot British  

/ ˈsʌbˌplɒt /

noun

1. a subordinate or auxiliary plot in a novel, play, film, etc

---

Etymology

Origin of subplot

First recorded in 1915–20; sub- + plot

Explanation

A secondary story in a book or movie, rather than the central narrative, is its subplot. Romeo and Juliet focuses on the main characters' love, but one of its many subplots is the rivalry between Mercutio and Tybalt. You can think of a subplot as a side story, something that seems a bit less important than the main plot but usually ties into it in some way. Almost all fiction has at least one subplot, from Inigo Montoya's desire for revenge in The Princess Bride to the comedic interactions of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Shakespeare's Hamlet. This literary term adds the prefix sub-, "under" or "smaller," to plot, "the main events of a story."

Example Sentences

Next to all that, a rocky relationship styled into an on-and-off situationship for a reality TV subplot is the proverbial hill of beans Rick Blaine mentioned in “Casablanca.”

From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026

Especially for Jay, whose subplot concerns his desire for a musical career apart from this partnership, and includes him covertly planning to perform at an open-mic event in far-off Ottawa.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

That bloody chapter in Colombian history provided a factual basis for a subplot in “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” an epic novel by Gabriel García Márquez, who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1982.

From Salon • Jan. 18, 2026

Buried within Warner Bros Discovery is TNT Sports, which provides an intriguing subplot in an acrimonious battle for some of the world's top TV shows and movies.

From BBC • Dec. 23, 2025

A subplot deals with the attachment between the girl and her maidservant.

From Checklist A complete, cumulative Checklist of lesbian, variant and homosexual fiction, in English or available in English translation, with supplements of related material, for the use of collectors, students and librarians. by Bradley, Marion Zimmer