subsidiary

American  

[suhb-sid-ee-er-ee] / səbˈsɪd iˌɛr i /

adjective

1. serving to assist or supplement; auxiliary; supplementary.

2. subordinate or secondary.

   subsidiary issues.

3. of or relating to a subsidiary.

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noun

• subsidiaries
  plural

1. a subsidiary thing or person.

2. subsidiary company.

3. Music. a subordinate theme or subject.

subsidiary British  

/ səbˈsɪdɪərɪ /

adjective

1. serving to aid or supplement; auxiliary

2. of lesser importance; subordinate in function

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noun

1. a person who or thing that is subsidiary

2. short for subsidiary company

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subsidiariness
  noun
• nonsubsidiary
  adjective
• unsubsidiary
  adjective
• subsidiarily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• subsidiaries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of subsidiary

1535–45; < Latin subsidiārius, equivalent to subsidi ( um ) ( see 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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

subsidiary subsidiaries

He also cut the size of a Berlin-based subsidiary called Cariad, his predecessor’s project to create a German software giant that would power the computer brains at the heart of modern automobiles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Acme’s opening logos, WBD would be a subsidiary of the Acme juggernaut itself, now known as “Warner-Acme Group.”

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

The Indian renewables subsidiary filed for an India IPO which could raise up to 37.50 billion rupees, with proceeds earmarked for debt repayment, the analyst says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

And next to the opening Warner Bros. logo, there’s an asterisk that reads, “A wholly owned subsidiary of the Acme Corporation.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Bill the raccoon. We acquired him just last year from a subsidiary corporation.”

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

As for HPE, Conti said that networking is the “earnings engine,” given its ownership of networking subsidiaries Juniper Networks and Aruba Networks under the umbrella of HPE Networking.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

Archer Aviation stock surges after announcing it’s acquiring several of Boeing’s subsidiaries.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Disney and TikTok have agreed a deal which will allow creators to use clips from Disney films, including its subsidiaries, in their videos.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

All three of their adult children have worked at SK subsidiaries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

But in an emergency, all six subsidiaries must be mobilized immediately and simultaneously.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

Related Words

• ancillary
• supplementary