sub

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈsəb 

: substitute

sub

2 of 3

verb

subbed; subbing

intransitive verb

: to act as a substitute

transitive verb

1

British : to read and edit as a copy editor : subedit

2

: subcontract sense 1

sub

3 of 3

noun (2)

: submarine

Synonyms of sub

Noun (1)

• substitute
• replacement

Verb

• substitute

Noun (2)

• submarine
• hero

Examples of sub in a Sentence

Noun (1)

we had a sub in English today, so we didn't get our test results back

Verb

Smith subbed for Jones at halftime.

subbing in a Broadway play

Smith subbed Jones at halftime.

Noun (2)

we shared a tuna sub at lunch

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The protocols state that the IAA will maintain a post-detection sub-committee drawing international representation from the scientific, legal, ethics, social science, humanities and communications professions. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 9 June 2026

As well as going out on Netflix, episodes are still on YouTube where the dedicated Masha channel has 55M subs. —Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 9 June 2026

Verb

Players getting subbed off must leave the field within 10 seconds, except for special situations such as ones involving injuries or a security issue. —Tim Reynolds, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2026

Sharples then made her best case to remain in the match, but instead she was subbed off in the ninth minute. —Jeff Rosen, Kansas City Star, 30 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1777, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1853, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (2)

1913, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing sub

• sub-adolescent
• sub-agency
• sub-agent
• sub-allocate
• sub-allocation
• sub-aqua
• sub-area
• sub-audible
• sub-average
• sub-basement
• sub-basin
• sub-block
• sub-branch
• sub-caste
• sub-ceiling
• sub-cellar
• sub-chapter
• sub-chief
• sub-clan
• sub-cluster
• sub-code
• sub-collection
• sub-college
• sub-collegiate
• sub-colony
• sub-commission
• sub-component
• sub-county
• sub-cult
• sub-dean
• sub-decision
• sub-department
• sub-development
• sub-dialect
• sub-director
• sub-directory
• sub-discipline
• sub-district
• sub-economy
• sub-faculty
• sub-file
• sub-folder
• sub-fragment
• sub-frame
• sub-generation
• sub-genre
• sub-goal
• sub-government
• sub-industry
• sub judice
• sub-language
• sub-level
• sub-lot
• sub-manager
• sub-market
• sub-maximal
• sub-maximally
• sub-menu
• sub-minimal
• sub-minimum
• sub-minister
• sub-national
• sub-network
• sub-niche
• sub-optimal
• sub-optimally
• sub-optimization
• sub-optimize
• sub-optimum
• sub-organization
• sub-panel
• sub-par
• sub-paragraph
• sub-parallel
• sub-part
• sub-period
• sub-phase
• sub-process
• sub-product
• sub-project
• sub-rational
• sub-rosa
• sub-Saharan
• sub-scale
• sub-science
• sub-sea
• sub-secretary
• sub-sector
• sub-segment
• sub-sentence
• sub-series
• sub-site
• sub-skill
• sub-society
• sub-specialist
• sub-specialization
• sub-specialize
• sub-specialty
• sub specie aeternitatis
• sub-state
• sub-stellar
• sub-system
• sub-task
• sub-test
• sub-theme
• sub-therapeutic
• sub-topic
• sub-treasury
• sub-trend
• sub-tribe
• sub-type
• sub-unit
• sub-variety
• sub-visible
• sub-visual
• sub-world
• sub-writer
• sub-zero
• sub-zone

Rhymes for sub

• bub
• club
• cub
• dub
• grub
• hub
• nub
• pub
• rub
• scrub
• shrub
• snub

Kids Definition

sub

1 of 4 noun

ˈsəb 

: substitute entry 1

sub

2 of 4 verb

subbed; subbing

: to act as a substitute

sub

3 of 4 noun

: submarine entry 2

sub-

4 of 4 prefix

1

: under : beneath : below

subsoil

subfreezing

2

a

: being at a lower rank or secondary level

substation

b

: division or lesser part of

subcommittee

subtopic

c

: involving a secondary stage or process

sublet

subcontract

3

: less than completely, perfectly, or typically : somewhat

subdominant

4

: bordering upon

subarctic

Etymology

Prefix

from Latin sub- "under, below"

Legal Definition

sub-

prefix

1

: under : beneath : below

substandard

2

a

: subordinate : secondary : next lower than or inferior to

subagent

b

: subordinate portion of : subdivision of

subchapter

subcommittee

c

: assigning to another by the same method

sublicense

subcontract