subsidiary

[suhb-sid-ee-er-ee]

adjective

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

2. subordinate or secondary.

   subsidiary issues.

3. of or relating to a subsidiary.

noun

plural

subsidiaries 

1. a subsidiary thing or person.

2. subsidiary company.

3. Music.,  a subordinate theme or subject.

subsidiary

/ səbˈsɪdɪərɪ /

adjective

1. serving to aid or supplement; auxiliary

2. of lesser importance; subordinate in function

noun

1. a person who or thing that is subsidiary

2. short for subsidiary company

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of subsidiary¹

1535–45; < Latin subsidiārius, equivalent to subsidi ( um ) ( subsidy ) + -ārius -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of subsidiary¹

C16: from Latin subsidiārius supporting, from subsidium _subsidy

Example Sentences

On Monday, Barrick announced it would explore an initial public offering of a subsidiary that would hold its premier North American gold assets.

Read more on Barron's

Niger's military regime on Sunday announced it was putting uranium produced by Somair -- a subsidiary of French giant Orana before the regime nationalised it in June -- on the international market.

Read more on Barron's

Rakia Group, a small company headquartered in Dubai, recently set up a U.S. subsidiary to pitch its AI tools to U.S. government agencies for countering drug trafficking, terrorism and illegal immigration.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The subsidiary and former executive were appealing the decision and maintained that the subsidiary itself was “the victim of fraud,” ALT5’s filing said.

Read more on Barron's

Dutch bank ABN Amro plans to slash thousands of jobs and sell its personal loans subsidiary as part of its new strategic plan to boost profitability and capital returns in the next three years.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ancillary 
• supplementary