variants
or less commonly sub-type
plural subtypes also sub-types
: a type that is a subdivision of a broader type
… the … vaccine has a new, additional molecular component that its developers believe will contribute to a broader range of protection against subtypes of HIV found in North America, Europe, Australia, Central America, and South America.—
The Journal of the American Medical Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association… the neurotransmitter serotonin has at least 14 different known subtypes of receptors.—Steven F. Hyman
Steven F. HymanAmong subtypes of juggling found in circus shows are juggling on horseback and strong-man juggling with iron balls.—Mark Levine
Mark LevineExamples of subtype in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
According to the study, which used machine learning to analyze the microbiomes of 15,000 patients, six distinct subtypes of BV emerged from the data, including Typical BV, Transitional BV, Lacto-dominant BV, Biofilm BV, Mixed BV, and Atypical BV.
—Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 26 Feb. 2026
Testing at the California Animal Health & Food Safety lab at UC Davis showed the samples were positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N1.
—Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Ask your healthcare provider if testing for your CSU subtype—which identifies the type of autoimmunity causing the condition—makes sense.
—Ruth Jessen Hickman, Health, 10 Feb. 2026
Beyond anatomy, the two subtypes followed different timelines of disease progression.
—New Atlas, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for subtype
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 26 Feb. 2026
Testing at the California Animal Health & Food Safety lab at UC Davis showed the samples were positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N1.
—Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Ask your healthcare provider if testing for your CSU subtype—which identifies the type of autoimmunity causing the condition—makes sense.
—Ruth Jessen Hickman, Health, 10 Feb. 2026
Beyond anatomy, the two subtypes followed different timelines of disease progression.
—New Atlas, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for subtype
Cite this Entry
“Subtype.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subtype. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
subtype
1 of 2 noun
sub·type
ˈsəb-ˌtīp 
: a type that is subordinate to or included in another type
the blood group subtypes
subtypes of a disease
subtype
2 of 2 transitive verb
subtyped; subtyping
: to classify according to subtype
schizophrenic patients subtyped as paranoid or catatonic
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
