subculture

noun

sub·​cul·​ture ˈsəb-ˌkəl-chər How to pronounce subculture (audio)
1
a
: a culture (as of bacteria) derived from another culture
b
: an act or instance of producing a subculture
2
: an ethnic, regional, economic, or social group exhibiting characteristic patterns of behavior sufficient to distinguish it from others within an embracing culture or society
a criminal subculture
subcultural
ˌsəb-ˈkəlch-rəl How to pronounce subculture (audio)
-ˈkəl-chə-
adjective
subculturally adverb
subculture transitive verb

Examples of subculture in a Sentence

a subculture of local painters a subculture of poverty and crime
Recent Examples on the Web In this rapacious subculture, mobsters went into subdivisions and snapped up a half dozen homes at a time. Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 14 Mar. 2024 Was this an intentional nod to the subculture of Free Blacks marrying into white families? Lynnette Nicholas, Essence, 28 Feb. 2024 Documentaries about niche subcultures abound: dog dancing, science fairs, yo-yos. Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2024 By the 2010s, however, an internet subculture that repackaged antisemitism into something seemingly more palatable started to take shape — often on newer and less moderated platforms like Discord, 8chan, and Telegram, and also on mainstream services like Facebook and YouTube. Joseph Menn, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023 But the tidiness of such metaphors runs into trouble in the internet age, where trends accelerate, proliferate and fragment across a multitude of demographics and subcultures. Jonah Weiner, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024 At its core, Skateboard is a love letter to skateboarding—board designs, street skating, pro skating, skate crews, skateparks, skate photography, Thrasher, and an enduring subculture. Julia Brenner, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 These messages rarely acknowledge the diversity of the Black experience or Black subcultures. A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez, Parents, 17 Feb. 2024 But Ryder shines as a true indie darling in Sean Price Williams’s The Sweet East, a picaresque drama that follows Lillian (Ryder), a 17-year-old high schooler who takes a wild tour of the northeastern United States via a score of cartoonish subcultures. Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 12 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'subculture.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of subculture was in 1885

Dictionary Entries Near subculture

Cite this Entry

“Subculture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subculture. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

subculture

1 of 2 noun
sub·​cul·​ture ˈsəb-ˌkəl-chər How to pronounce subculture (audio)
1
: a culture (as of bacteria) derived from another culture
2
: an act or instance of producing a subculture
subcultural adjective
subculturally adverb

subculture

2 of 2 transitive verb
subcultured; subculturing
: to culture (as bacteria) anew on a fresh medium by inoculation from an older culture
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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