subcategory

noun

sub·​cat·​e·​go·​ry ˌsəb-ˈka-tə-ˌgȯr-ē 

plural subcategories

: a category that is a subdivision of a larger category : a secondary category

grouping the books into the appropriate categories and subcategories

A new subcategory of vodkas, which provide a contrast to the "tasteless" aspect of this spirit, are the flavored vodkas …

—Alexis Bespaloff

Examples of subcategory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

More than 43% of all pre-rolled joints are infused with extra THC, which explains Sorting Robotics focus on the subcategory. —Will Yakowicz, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025

Simply use color as a subcategory. —Tessa Cooper, Southern Living, 5 Aug. 2025

Thanks to a 1994 law called the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, or DSHEA, supplements are regulated more like a subcategory of foods, not a subcategory of medicine. —Andrea Kane, CNN Money, 15 July 2025

Both Newsom’s latest budget and the Legislature’s alternative draft would peg state spending on schools at $80.5 billion, including transitional kindergarten, a new education subcategory. —Dan Walters, Mercury News, 20 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for subcategory

• accusatory
• admonitory
• ambulatory
• amendatory
• celebratory
• circulatory
• combinatory
• commendatory
• compensatory
• condemnatory
• confirmatory
• confiscatory