subsidiary

noun

plural subsidiaries

: one that is subsidiary

especially : a company wholly controlled by another

Examples of subsidiary in a Sentence

one of the company's foreign subsidiaries

Recent Examples on the Web

The states are asking a federal judge to vacate the lease cancellation and settlement agreement with TotalEnergies' subsidiary, Attentive Energy. —CBS News, 3 June 2026

What the expansion involves The company, a subsidiary of the European enrichment consortium Urenco Group, operates the only uranium enrichment facility currently licensed and operating in the United States. —Aditya Jadhav, Interesting Engineering, 3 June 2026

The new entity–which encompasses 25 investment companies and platforms and over 250 group subsidiaries–will expand its global footprint by allocating capital across public and private markets. —Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 2 June 2026

Such bullishness contributes to investor enthusiasm — enthusiasm Honeywell wants to tap by taking public its quantum computing subsidiary, Quantinuum, noted TipRanks. —Peter Cohan, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for subsidiary

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• apiary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• bacillary
• beriberi
• bestiary
• breviary
• budgetary

Kids Definition

subsidiary

1 of 2 adjective

sub·​sid·​iary

səb-ˈsid-ē-ˌer-ē, 

-ˈsid-ə-rē

: of secondary importance

subsidiary streams

subsidiary

2 of 2 noun

plural subsidiaries

: one that is subsidiary

especially : a company wholly controlled by another

Legal Definition

subsidiary

noun

sub·​sid·​i·​ary

səb-ˈsi-dē-ˌer-ē, -ˈsi-də-rē

plural subsidiaries

: a company having the majority of its stock owned by another company compare affiliate

Note: The parent company of a subsidiary generally has the same policy-making powers as any majority owner and can do such things as appoint directors and hire officers. The subsidiary is controlled by the parent through these powers, and the parent may be held liable for the acts of the subsidiary if the subsidiary is found to be an instrumentality of the parent.

subsidiary adjective