sub|o r|di|nate clau se (subordinate clauses ) N‑COUNT A subordinate clause is a clause in a sentence which adds to or completes the information given in the main clause. It cannot usually stand alone as a sentence. Compare main clause . [TECHNICAL ]
sub|o r|di|nat|ing con|ju nc|tion (subordinating conjunctions ) N‑COUNT A subordinating conjunction is a word such as 'although', 'because', or 'when' which begins a subordinate clause. Compare co-ordinating conjunction . [TECHNICAL ]
su b-plot (sub-plots ) also subplot N‑COUNT The sub-plot in a play, film, or novel is a story that is separate from and less important than the main story. □ …a fascinating sub-plot to the main drama.
sub|poe|na /səpiː nə/ (subpoenas , subpoenaing , subpoenaed )
1 N‑COUNT A subpoena is a legal document telling someone that they must attend a court of law and give evidence as a witness. □ He has been served with a subpoena to answer the charges in court.
2 VERB If someone subpoenas a person, they give them a legal document telling them to attend a court of law and give evidence. If someone subpoenas a piece of evidence, the evidence must be produced in a court of law. □ [V n] Select committees have the power to subpoena witnesses. □ [V n] The investigation will rely on existing powers to subpoena documents.
sub|prime /sʌ bpra I m/ ADJ A subprime loan is a loan that is made to a borrower who has been unable to pay back loans in the past, usually with a high interest rate. □ Billions of dollars worth of subprime loans were issued in the US.
sub|scribe /səbskra I b/ (subscribes , subscribing , subscribed )
1 VERB If you subscribe to an opinion or belief, you are one of a number of people who have this opinion or belief. □ [V + to ] I've personally never subscribed to the view that either sex is superior to the other.
2 VERB If you subscribe to a service, especially online, you agree to regularly receive it or receive information from it. [COMPUTING ] □ [V + to ] Viewers must subscribe to a broadband service for £17.99 a month.
3 VERB If you subscribe to a magazine or a newspaper, you pay to receive copies of it regularly. □ [V + to ] I subscribe to New Scientist to keep abreast of advances in science.
4 VERB If you subscribe for shares in a company, you apply to buy shares in that company. [BUSINESS ] □ [V + for ] Employees subscribed for far more shares than were available. [Also V n]
sub|scrib|er /səbskra I bə r / (subscribers )
1 N‑COUNT [usu pl] A magazine's or a newspaper's subscribers are the people who pay to receive copies of it regularly. □ [+ to ] I have been a subscriber to Railway Magazine for many years.
2 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Subscribers to a service are the people who pay to receive the service. □ [+ to ] China has almost 15 million subscribers to satellite and cable television.
sub|scrip|tion /səbskr I pʃ ə n/ (subscriptions )
1 N‑COUNT A subscription is an amount of money that you pay regularly in order to belong to an organization, to help a charity or campaign, or to receive copies of a magazine or newspaper. □ You can become a member by paying the yearly subscription.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Subscription television is television that you can watch only if you pay a subscription. A subscription channel is a channel that you can watch only if you pay a subscription.
sub|sec|tion /sʌ bsekʃ ə n/ (subsections ) also sub-section N‑COUNT A subsection of a text or a document such as a law is one of the smaller parts into which its main parts are divided.
sub|se|quent ◆◇◇ /sʌ bs I kwənt/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] You use subsequent to describe something that happened or existed after the time or event that has just been referred to. [FORMAL ] □ …the increase of population in subsequent years. ● sub|se|quent|ly ADV □ She subsequently became the Faculty's President.
2 PHRASE If something happened subsequent to something else, it happened after that thing. [FORMAL ] □ They won only one more game subsequent to their Cup semi-final win last year. SYNONYMS subsequent ADJ 1
following: We went to dinner the following Monday evening.
next: I got up early the next morning.
ensuing: The ensuing argument had been bitter.
later: At a later news conference, he said differences should not be dramatized.
sub|ser|vi|ent /səbsɜː r viənt/
1 ADJ If you are subservient , you do whatever someone wants you to do. □ [+ to ] She is expected to be subservient to her uncle. ● sub|ser|vi|ence /səbsɜː r viəns/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ to ] …an austere regime stressing obedience and subservience to authority.
2 ADJ If you treat one thing as subservient to another, you treat it as less important than the other thing. □ [+ to ] The woman's needs are seen as subservient to the group interest.
sub|set /sʌ bset/ (subsets ) N‑COUNT A subset of a group of things is a smaller number of things that belong together within that group. □ [+ of ] …subsets of the population such as men, women, ethnic groups, etc.
sub|side /səbsa I d/ (subsides , subsiding , subsided )