noun · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
General-American:/ˈsʌbˌkʌltʃɚ/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:S AH1 B K AH2 L CH ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features, often in contrast to the larger mainstream culture.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
The goth subculture has its own mode of dress, and it has a characteristic musical style.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A culture made by transferring microorganisms from a previous culture to a fresh growth medium
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
verb
Meaning 3
To transfer (microorganisms) to a fresh growth medium in order to start a new culture
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a social group within a national culture that has distinctive patterns of behavior and beliefs
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub-der. English sub- Proto-Indo-European *kwelh1- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *kwélh1eti Proto-Italic *kwelō Latin colō Proto-Indo-European *-tew-? Proto-Indo-European *-r-eh2? Latin -tūra Latin cultūrader. Middle French cultureder. English culture English subculture From sub- + culture.
Across languages
Translations
32 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Chinese Mandarin:
亞文化 /亚文化
(yàwénhuà)
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Chinese Mandarin:
次文化
(cìwénhuà)
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Dutch:
subcultuur
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Finnish:
alakulttuuri
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Finnish:
osakulttuuri
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
French:
sous-culture
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Georgian:
სუბკულტურა
(subḳulṭura)
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
German:
Subkultur
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Greek:
υποπολιτισμός
(ypopolitismós)
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Hindi:
उपसंस्कृति
(upsanskŕti)
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Irish:
fochultúr
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Italian:
subcultura
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Japanese:
サブカルチャー
(sabukaruchā)
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Japanese:
下位文化
(kai bunka)
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Kazakh:
субмәдениет
(submädeniet)
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Korean:
하위문화
(hawimunhwa)
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Korean:
서브컬쳐
(seobeukeolcheo)
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Latvian:
subkultūra
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Norwegian Bokmål:
subkultur
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Norwegian Bokmål:
delkultur
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Norwegian Nynorsk:
subkultur
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Norwegian Nynorsk:
delkultur
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Persian:
خردهفرهنگ
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Polish:
subkultura
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Portuguese:
subcultura
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Romanian:
subcultură
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Russian:
субкульту́ра
(subkulʹtúra)
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Spanish:
subcultura
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Swedish:
subkultur
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Tagalog:
subkultura
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Vietnamese:
tiểu văn hóa
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
Vietnamese:
nhóm văn hóa
— portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features
