subordinate
person of lower rank at work
A person who works under another person and has less power or rank than them.
[someone] is a subordinate of [someone]
- As a manager, she meets with her subordinates every Monday to set weekly goals.
- His subordinates respect him because he listens to their ideas.
- The report was prepared by one of the director's subordinates.
- Supervisors are responsible for training their subordinates in safety procedures.
- My boss asked his subordinates to stay late.
- Her subordinates send her a report every week.
- The new manager wants to build trust with his subordinates.
lower in rank or authority
Having less power or rank than another person or group.
[someone/something] is subordinate to [someone/something]
- All regional managers are subordinate to the country director.
- In the military, lieutenants are subordinate to captains.
- The committee is subordinate to the main board of directors.
- Several subordinate units report directly to the central office.
- The sales team is subordinate to the marketing director.
- Local offices are subordinate to the head office.
- These officers are subordinate to the general.
less important or secondary
Less important than something else; not the main thing.
[something] is subordinate to [something more important]
- Economic growth should not be treated as subordinate to short-term political goals.
- The visual effects play a subordinate role to the story in this film.
- In this project, cost is subordinate to safety considerations.
- Moral questions are never subordinate to convenience.
- In this job, money is subordinate to job satisfaction.
- Appearance is subordinate to comfort when I buy shoes.
- In this course, tests are subordinate to real projects.
treat as less important
To give less importance to one thing than to another thing.
to subordinate [something] to [something]
- He refuses to subordinate scientific evidence to political pressure.
- We must not subordinate employee safety to profit.
- In her life, family is never subordinated to career ambitions.
- The article subordinates detailed statistics to a clear overall argument.
- We should not subordinate health to work.
- The company subordinated quality to low cost.
- He subordinated his own needs to his children's needs.
dependent in a sentence (grammar)
In grammar, describing a clause that needs a main clause and cannot be a full sentence by itself.
subordinate [clause] [conjunction] [sentence element]
- In the sentence "I left because I was tired," the phrase "because I was tired" is a subordinate clause.
- A subordinate clause must be joined to a main clause to form a complete sentence.
- The book gives many examples of how to use subordinate clauses to add extra information.
- A subordinate clause cannot stand alone.
- In this sentence, the part after "because" is a subordinate clause.
- We learned how to join a subordinate clause to a main clause.
give a claim lower legal priority
In law or business, to change a debt or claim so that it is paid after another one.
to subordinate [a debt/claim] to [another debt/claim]
- The lender agreed to subordinate its lien to the new mortgage.
- Investors were warned that their interests would be subordinated to those of senior creditors.
- Under the agreement, the bank subordinated its existing loan to the refinancing package.
- The company subordinated one loan to another loan.
- The bank will not subordinate its claim to a new lender.
- Subordinated debt is paid after other debt.
- Base: subordinate
- Base: subordinate
- Plural: subordinates
- Base: subordinate
- 3rd Person Singular: subordinates
- Present Participle: subordinating
- Past: subordinated
be subordinate to
1have lower rank or status than
To have less power, rank, or importance than someone or something else.
- Regional offices are subordinate to the head office.
- In this structure, all other values are subordinate to safety.
- Junior officers are subordinate to senior officers.
subordinate clause
1clause that depends on main clause
A part of a sentence that has a subject and verb but cannot be a full sentence by itself and must join a main clause.
- In the sentence "I stayed home because it was raining," "because it was raining" is a subordinate clause.
- Teachers often ask students to underline the subordinate clause in each sentence.
subordinate debt
1loan with lower repayment priority
A loan or debt that will be paid back only after other debts have been paid.
- Because it is subordinate debt, the interest rate is higher to reflect the extra risk.
- In a bankruptcy, holders of subordinate debt may lose all their money.
subordinate legislation
1law made under main legislation
Rules and laws made by a person or body under powers given by a main law passed by parliament.
- Details of the new system will be set out in subordinate legislation.
- The act gives ministers wide powers to make subordinate legislation.
subordinate role
1less important position or function
A job or part that is not the main one and is less important than another job or part.
- In this project, technology plays a subordinate role to social impact.
- He was unhappy with his subordinate role in the decision-making process.