What does subsidiary mean?
Word: Subsidiary
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Subsidiary means less important than, and connected to, the main thing. As a noun, it is a company owned by a larger company.
Synonyms: secondary
How do you spell subsidiary?
Syllables: sub - sid - i - ar - y
Tricky part: The i just before ary is barely heard, so many pupils drop it and end the word too soon.
Watch out for: subsidary, subsidiery, subsidairy
Memory tip: A subsidiary helps a bigger company, just as an auxiliary nurse helps a bigger team: both words close with iary.
Subsidiary in a sentence
Example 1: The tea company runs a subsidiary in Assam that packs and ships its leaves.
Example 2: The big river is fed by several subsidiary streams.
Example 3: Maths was the focus of the week, and art played a subsidiary part.
Fun Fact
A company usually counts as a subsidiary when another company owns more than half of its shares, a holding known as a majority stake.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
s_bs_diary
a) a, i
b) u, e
c) a, e
d) u, i
Show answer
d) u, i. The word opens with the short sub of submarine, and the next gap takes an i.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The car maker has opened a riyasudsbi plant in Pune to build engine parts.
a) subsidiary
b) subsistence
c) subscriber
d) subordinate
Show answer
a) subsidiary. Two i's, a d and a y fit only one option; subscriber and subsistence have no d, and subordinate has no y.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word subsidiary as used in the sentence:
History was only a subsidiary subject in Rekha's first year at college.
a) minor
b) supporting
c) additional
d) principal
Show answer
d) principal. A subject that comes before all others is the principal one, the opposite of a side subject.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. hierarchy 2. entreprenuer 3. colleague 4. subsidiary
a) a person who sets up a new business
b) a smaller firm under a larger one
c) a system of ranks from top to bottom
d) a person you work with
Show answer
a) a person who sets up a new business. Entrepreneur ends in eur; the other three are printed correctly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Sunrise Books is a subsidiary of Orbit Media. Who has the final say in big decisions at Sunrise Books?
a) the readers of Sunrise Books
b) the owners of Orbit Media
c) the rivals of both companies
d) the writers at Sunrise Books
Show answer
b) the owners of Orbit Media
2. An actor plays a subsidiary role in a film. What is most likely?
a) She wrote and directed the whole film herself
b) She appears only on the posters for the film
c) She plays the hero in almost every scene
d) She appears in a few scenes that back up the lead
Show answer
d) She appears in a few scenes that back up the lead
