subtitle

American  

[suhb-tahyt-l] / ˈsʌbˌtaɪt l /

noun

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)

subtitled, subtitling

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

• subtitular adjective
• unsubtitled adjective

Etymology

Origin of subtitle

First recorded in 1875–80; sub- + title

Example Sentences

But the book’s subtitle, “The Invention of Biology and the Revolutionary Science of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck,” is more than a bit misleading.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Its subtitle, about awakening and survival, underlines Mrie’s trajectory from submissive daughter to political actor and skilled observer.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

In a phone conversation and later at his office, Klapper said the subtitle is going to be, “Let Me Explain.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2026

As a subtitle adds, the first-person audio used throughout is pure, unmanipulated Scott, which one supposes is the kind of thing an audience needs to know these days.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025

His great work is the Rei Medicae Prodromi, or introduction to medical science, which has for subtitle "Treatise on the Principal Problems of Physiology."

From The Popes and Science The History of the Papal Relations to Science During the Middle Ages and Down to Our Own Time by Walsh, James J.

Related Words

• call
• describe
• dub