subsidiary
Americanadjective
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serving to assist or supplement; auxiliary; supplementary.
-
subordinate or secondary.
subsidiary issues.
-
of or relating to a subsidiary.
noun
plural
subsidiaries-
a subsidiary thing or person.
-
Music. a subordinate theme or subject.
adjective
-
serving to aid or supplement; auxiliary
-
of lesser importance; subordinate in function
noun
-
a person who or thing that is subsidiary
-
short for subsidiary company
Other Word Forms
- nonsubsidiary adjective
- subsidiarily adverb
- subsidiariness noun
- unsubsidiary adjective
Etymology
Origin of subsidiary
1535–45; < Latin subsidiārius, equivalent to subsidi ( um ) ( subsidy ) + -ārius -ary
Explanation
If a company belongs to another company, then the owned company is a subsidiary. When a large company bought your small business, you became a subsidiary. It still hurts to call them the parent company, since you publish novels and they make toilet paper. The adjective form of subsidiary describes something that is of secondary importance or that functions in a supporting capacity. In addition to running the band program, you're a member of several subsidiary committees like the fund raising committee and the hospitality committee. Traffic on the road was light when you drove outside the city, but as more subsidiary roads joined with the main one, traffic quickly became congested.
Vocabulary lists containing subsidiary
Power Prefix: sub-
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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.
It has been expanding its work with the US defence sector, including the US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and - through a subsidiary - the US Navy.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
A chart in yesterday’s newsletter incorrectly listed the company as GitHub, now a subsidiary of Microsoft.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
Lines said an Indian-flagged tanker owned by a subsidiary had also safely transited the strait.
From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026
Musk doesn’t just control SpaceX, but also owns its subsidiary Starlink, the world’s largest satellite company, which boasts constellations of 10,000 small satellites and counting.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
Of course, as he worked out the implications of his laws, he drew a series of subsidiary conclusions.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
