subcontractor

noun

sub·​con·​trac·​tor ˌsəb-ˈkän-ˌtrak-tər 

ˌsəb-kən-ˈtrak-

: an individual or business firm contracting to perform part or all of another's contract

Examples of subcontractor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Another subcontractor involved in the project echoed Sciame’s assessment, telling Curbed that most large-scale construction projects involve a rush toward completion. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 18 July 2026

Atlantic Industrial Coatings, the contractor responsible for the project, and Mid-America Industrial Coatings, the subcontractor whose crews helped line the basin, did not respond to questions from The Post. — Maura Judkis, Washington Post, 16 July 2026

The company works like a specialist subcontractor—the kind a general contractor hires to handle one specific job, like plumbing or electrical—except the crew is robots. — Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 15 July 2026

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration later found three subcontractors responsible. — Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 13 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for subcontractor

• benefactor
• chiropractor
• malefactor
• multifactor
• acter
• actor
• factor
• tractor
• attractor
• cofactor
• compactor
• contactor

Legal Definition

subcontractor

noun

: one (as an individual or business) that contracts to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract