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:
That’s because they work as a form of life insurance, and those people who buy an annuity and die young effectively subsidize those who live to be very old.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
Truckers in California are asking the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to subsidize the high costs of owning and operating zero-emission big rigs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“It does subsidize those that don’t need to be subsidized,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Faced with growing discontent, authorities have cut taxes and fees used to subsidize renewables.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
“I said I don’t—” “We can tell him the L & J Fund is intended to subsidize writers and actors if you want.”
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
To help make housing affordable, the Singaporean government subsidizes housing by building apartments around the city.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Americans have largely heard about the famous French creche system of public daycares, but the French government also subsidizes the kind of one-on-one at-home care that many parents of infants prefer.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
It also subsidizes investment through taxes on households and a skimpy safety net, boosting saving.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
It’s not known who subsidizes the low rents at C Street, which is technically a church and doesn’t disclose its backers.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
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
Third-party help includes Section 8 housing, which has eligibility requirements and waiting lists; senior housing; and subsidized apartments.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
His company’s vehicles were the most heavily subsidized in California’s $1-billion clean truck incentive program on average.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
While subsidized rice and beans were still widely available, ground beef was replaced with soy protein.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Ferguson, the focus is on a Washington state law that protects access to safe state-licensed youth shelters and subsidized mental healthcare counseling.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
George Pocock and Al Ulbrickson strongly suspected, though, that the Nazi government had heavily subsidized their extensive training.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
The government says it is promoting employment by offering vocational training, subsidizing companies that hire recent college graduates and developing new jobs for the AI era.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
More than half of the Colorado River’s water is used for irrigated agriculture, and in recent years the federal government has been effectively subsidizing farmers to leave their water unused.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Her data showed that people in low-risk areas were essentially subsidizing high-risk homes in California’s wealth enclaves such as the Pacific Palisades devastated by the January 2025 firestorm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
On the website and in fliers sent to residents, the city says it spends $1.5 million a year to maintain the parks and that taxpayers are effectively subsidizing low land rents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
He had himself to pay tribute to Egypt, and Egypt was subsidizing his enemy.
From Myths of Babylonia and Assyria by Donald Alexander Mackenzie
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