subplot

noun

sub·​plot ˈsəb-ˌplät 

1

: a subordinate plot in fiction or drama

2

: a subdivision of an experimental plot of land

Examples of subplot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The world may have left England to rot (a subplot involving a foreign soldier implies that other nations have taken an active interest in helping that process along), but any society that allows an entire country to become an open-air graveyard is sick with a terrible virus of its own. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 18 June 2025

If polyamory feels like a fashionable subplot for Bechdel to tackle, this is only because heterosexuals have recently discovered in it a promising balm for yuppie malaise. —Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 16 June 2025

Townsend Warner soon expands on this idea through a subplot involving a handsome young schoolteacher named Thomas Kettle, who comes to Loseby to help his elderly aunt. —B. Pietras june 10, Literary Hub, 10 June 2025

Elsewhere, as the city descends into chaos, a less well-rounded subplot sees Dre’s pregnant wife Lizzy (Riki Lindhome) desperately making her way to the bar, with the help of a transgender out-of-towner (Eve Lindley). —Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 10 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1812, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

subplot

noun

sub·​plot ˈsəb-ˌplät 

: a subordinate plot in fiction or drama