subtitle

American  

[suhb-tahyt-l] / ˈsʌbˌtaɪt l /

noun

subtitles plural

1. a secondary or subordinate title of a literary work, usually of explanatory character.

2. a repetition of the leading words in the full title of a book at the head of the first page of text.

3. Movies, Television, Digital Technology.

   1. a translation or transcription of spoken language in a television program, film, video, or video game, as of dialogue in a foreign language or speech that is audible but may not be easily understood, displayed as a graphic overlay on the lower part of the screen.

   2. caption.

   3. (in silent films) an intertitle or caption.

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verb (used with object)

subtitles, present (3rd person singular) subtitled, past participle, past subtitling present participle

1. to supply a subtitle or subtitles for.

subtitle British  

/ ˈsʌbˌtaɪtəl, -ˈtɪtʃə-, sʌbˈtɪtjʊlə /

noun

1. an additional subordinate title given to a literary or other work

2. Also called: caption.  (often plural) films

   1. a written translation superimposed on a film that has foreign dialogue

   2. explanatory text on a silent film

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verb

1. (tr; usually passive) to provide a subtitle for

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subtitular
  adjective
• unsubtitled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• subtitles
  plural

Participles

• subtitling
  present
• subtitled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• subtitle
  simple
• subtitles
  simple
• have subtitled
  perfect
• has subtitled
  perfect
• am subtitling
  progressive
• are subtitling
  progressive
• is subtitling
  progressive
• have been subtitling
  perfect progressive
• has been subtitling
  perfect progressive

Past

• subtitled
  simple
• had subtitled
  perfect
• was subtitling
  progressive
• were subtitling
  progressive
• had been subtitling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will subtitle
  simple
• will have subtitled
  perfect
• will be subtitling
  progressive
• will have been subtitling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of subtitle

First recorded in 1875–80; sub- + title

Explanation

A subtitle can either be the second, explanatory, part of a longer title, or the words that appear at the bottom of a movie screen to translate dialogue that's spoken in a foreign language. If you've got hearing loss, you might watch TV with the subtitles on, so that you can read the dialogue as it's spoken. And when a foreign film is shown in the U.S., it usually has English subtitles. The subtitle of a book, on the other hand, comes after (or under) its main title. You might call your memoirs "My Story," with the subtitle "An Incredible Life." The prefix sub-, fittingly, means "under."

Example Sentences

Large language models can spew Mississippi Rivers of data and text, but they struggle to write a log line for a 120-page screenplay, a subtitle for a book, or a few lines of poetry.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026

Do you hope that people will adopt it rather than using the other terms that make up the subtitle of your book?

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026

As the book’s subtitle indicates, Mr. Bayliss, a scholar of Greek history at the University of Birmingham in England, situates the Spartans firmly within the time-honored pattern of overreach leading to downfall.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

While “The Long Run’s” subtitle suggests a portrait of “The Decade That Made the Marathon Cool,” that decade—the 1970s—is prefaced by more than 100 pages of history.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Later, however, the subtitle, "Anarchy," was gradually reduced to smaller lettering and finally dropped.

From Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: Paul Kauvar; or, Anarchy by Moses, Montrose Jonas

Related Words

• call
• describe
• dub