subsidiary
Americanadjective
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serving to assist or supplement; auxiliary; supplementary.
-
subordinate or secondary.
subsidiary issues.
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of or relating to a subsidiary.
noun
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a subsidiary thing or person.
-
Music. a subordinate theme or subject.
adjective
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serving to aid or supplement; auxiliary
-
of lesser importance; subordinate in function
noun
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a person who or thing that is subsidiary
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short for subsidiary company
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing subsidiary
Power Prefix: sub-
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100 SAT words Beginning with "S"
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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.
Subsidiary Ticketmaster is also a global ticket selling platform.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
Subsidiary New Line Cinema has franchise installments, including “The Conjuring: Last Rites” and a “Mortal Kombat” sequel.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2025
Subsidiary agreements that will determine how the U.S. military and civilian contractors come into PNG are being worked out, he said.
From Reuters • May 23, 2023
Subsidiary Beta Offshore operates the platforms and the pipeline.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 14, 2021
Subsidiary lines of blockhouses, which in general jutted out at right angles to the railways and in most cases ran along the cross-veld roads changing direction as circumstances required, were built.
From A Handbook of the Boer War With General Map of South Africa and 18 Sketch Maps and Plans by
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.
