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

For certain construction contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2027, general contractors can be held jointly responsible for wages that subcontractors fail to pay their workers. — Steven M. Frederick, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2026

City administrators have maintained that North Carolina state law preempts local governments from mandating wage or benefit floors for private subcontractors. — Chase Jordan october 30, Charlotte Observer, 30 Oct. 2026

If the orchestration layer belongs to one lab, every other model vendor becomes their subcontractor, not your supplier. — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2026

And when Ames turned to a Tucson green waste facility for water, protesters flooded the subcontractor with phone calls until its owner dropped the contract. — Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 29 Oct. 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