subspecialty

noun

sub·​spe·​cial·​ty ˌsəb-ˈspe-shəl-tē 

variants or less commonly sub-specialty

plural subspecialties also sub-specialties

: a specialty that is part of a broader specialty

Child psychiatry is a subspecialty of general psychiatry, just as hematology is of internal medicine.

—Bruno Bettelheim and Alvin A. Rosenfeld

An entire subspecialty known as machine learning is devoted to building algorithms that allow computers to develop new behaviors based on experience.

—Adam Piore

Examples of subspecialty in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The niche subspecialty demands delicate hands, unflappable focus, and a nuanced understanding of developmental biology. —Megan Molteni, STAT, 21 Feb. 2024

The company is a market leader in subspecialty teleradiology and provides services for outpatient imaging centers, orthopedic practices, university healthcare systems, and professional sports teams. —Andrew Gaudet, Miami Herald, 8 Feb. 2024

The essays remain thoroughly entertaining performances—eviscerating mockery being a Wilson subspecialty—despite failing to answer either question satisfactorily. —Geoffrey O’Brien, The New York Review of Books, 18 Jan. 2024

Most gastroenterologists don’t choose their subspecialty based on its inherent glamour. —Douglas G. Adler, Discover Magazine, 22 Oct. 2019

A number of national boards provide additional certification for doctors, including internal medicine, surgery, family medicine and many others -- a total of 40 specialty and 87 subspecialty boards. —Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 16 Nov. 2021

There's this conventional wisdom that coffee increases the risk for heart rhythm disturbances or electrical problems with the heart, which is my clinical subspecialty. —Josh Fischman, Scientific American, 12 Apr. 2023

Nephrology is a subspecialty of internal medicine focused on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the kidney, according to the American College of Physicians. —Brieanna J. Frank, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2023

Addiction medicine wasn’t recognized as a medical subspecialty until 2015. —Nickolas D. Zaller, STAT, 22 Feb. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

subspecialty

noun

sub·​spe·​cial·​ty ˌsəb-ˈspesh-əl-tē, ˈsəb-ˌ 

plural subspecialties

: a subordinate field of specialization

child psychiatry is a subspecialty of general psychiatry

—Bruno Bettelheim et al.