subsidize
Americanverb
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to aid or support with a subsidy
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to obtain the aid of by means of a subsidy
Usage
What does subsidize mean? To subsidize is to grant a subsidy—a direct payment made by a government to a company or other organization as a form of assistance. The process of subsidizing is subsidization. Governments often subsidize particular industries, such as through granting farm subsidies. The word subsidy is most commonly used to refer to such payments. More generally, subsidy can refer to any grant or monetary contribution. More specifically, it can refer to a payment made by one government to another for a particular service, often according to a treaty. Less commonly, the word subsidize can mean to gain someone’s cooperation through bribery. Subsidize is sometimes spelled subsidise (especially in British English). Example: The government is subsidizing my company to help expedite the manufacturing of healthcare products.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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desubsidizationnoun
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subsidizationnoun
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subsidizernoun
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desubsidizeverb (used with object)
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nonsubsidizedadjective
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subsidizableadjective
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unsubsidizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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subsidizesimple
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subsidizessimple
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have subsidizedperfect
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has subsidizedperfect
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am subsidizingprogressive
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are subsidizingprogressive
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is subsidizingprogressive
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have been subsidizingperfect progressive
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has been subsidizingperfect progressive
Past
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subsidizedsimple
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had subsidizedperfect
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was subsidizingprogressive
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were subsidizingprogressive
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had been subsidizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of subsidize
Explanation
To subsidize something is to support it by providing it with money or other resources. Don't expect your parents to subsidize your addiction to solid-gold puppy figurines. We can break down the word subsidize to help us remember its meaning. The prefix sub- means "under, below" and sedēre means "to sit." (A submarine is a ship that goes under the sea.) So to subsidize is to underwrite something financially, providing the support that keeps it going. For example, our taxes are used by the government to subsidize many educational and social programs.
Vocabulary lists containing subsidize
Donald Trump Inauguration Address- January 20, 2017
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State of the Union Address 2016
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Lyddie
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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.
See Examples For:
Would they be willing to subsidize some of your lifestyle while you adjust to your new financial reality?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
“Taxpayers are no longer willing to subsidize to the tune of thousands of crores, your stale cutlets and evening swims,” author Anand Ranganathan wrote on X in May.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Researchers have said it doesn’t subsidize housing deeply enough to reach truly low-income renters, so it produces housing in markets and at income levels that already have a surplus instead of filling a shortage.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
By selling its infrastructure, Meta can establish a steady revenue stream to subsidize this effort, buying the company time to catch up to its competitors.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
It doesn’t include the billions the government spends to subsidize corn.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
They deserve a health-insurance marketplace that subsidizes only people who qualify.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
"Businesses are going to make a fortune, and that's why you cannot continue to have a payroll tax system that taxes jobs and then subsidizes automation," the governor said in a statement.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
The credits cost the state nearly $250 million in tax revenue this school year and subsidizes almost 40,000 students.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2025
They could lose out on the earned income tax credit, which subsidizes lower-wage workers.
From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2025
Inside Jilin Province, China created the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, where forty percent of the population is ethnic Korean and where the government subsidizes Korean-language schools and publications.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
But many crop losses are covered through the heavily subsidized federal crop-insurance program.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
In France, youth sports are heavily subsidized by local municipalities and community groups, substantially lowering the barrier for entry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
Chinese electric vehicles have eroded its business in China, which for years subsidized operations back home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Still, the American AI model has been popular among Chinese researchers and engineers who use it through overseas proxies, often subsidized by their employers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
A few other general questions were tossed out, and Bobby answered them succinctly and with aplomb, until someone asked whether he was living in an apartment subsidized by the Church.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Currently tenants with vouchers subsidizing their rent payments need a government inspection before they can move in.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
“They are systematically subsidizing their industry, and we are picking one product at a time,” VDMA’s Richtberg said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
DRI warns: “Local utilities and ratepayers in data center cluster regions like Northern Nevada also risk bearing the costs of subsidizing AI and computing services as power grids expand their infrastructure.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
The new bill shifts from a fixed number to subsidizing one ADA per 7,500 people in the parish.
From Slate ● May 5, 2026
Most foreign governments have adopted the policy of subsidizing private steamship lines to carry the mails to out-of-the-way places.
From Government in the United States National, State and Local by Garner, James Wilford
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.
