subunit

noun

sub·​unit ˈsəb-ˌyü-nət 

variants or less commonly sub-unit

plural subunits also sub-units

: a unit that is part of a larger unit : a subdivision of a unit

In the U.S. Army's case … the smallest subunit is the squad (nine to twelve individuals under a sergeant).

—Norman Friedman

Because of a quirk in the replicative machinery, when a strand of DNA is duplicated during mitosis, a few subunits at one end are always lost.

—John Rennie

Examples of subunit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Microbes in the rumen break large molecules — especially cellulose — into smaller subunits. —Bob Holmes, Discover Magazine, 29 June 2024

Enlarge / Microbes in the rumen break large molecules—especially cellulose—into smaller subunits. —Bob Holmes, Ars Technica, 20 June 2024

Integral to the design of new facades were synthetic polymers: materials made of chains of repeating subunits, and which are the main ingredient of household plastics. —Alex Christian, WIRED, 1 Mar. 2024

Unlike traditional vaccines, which rely on injecting a dose of the entire disabled or weakened virus, scientists developing protein subunit vaccines pick out only specific fragments of the virus to trigger an immune response. —Alexander Tin, CBS News, 1 Feb. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

subunit

noun

sub·​unit

ˈsəb-ˌyü-nət

: a unit that forms an individually distinct part of a more comprehensive unit

Medical Definition

subunit

noun

sub·​unit ˈsəb-ˌyü-nət 

: a unit that forms a discrete part of a more comprehensive unit

subunits of a protein