subculture
noun
sub·cul·ture
ˈsəb-ˌkəl-chər 
1
a
: a culture (as of bacteria) derived from another culture
b
: an act or instance of producing a subculture
2
: an ethnic, regional, economic, or social group exhibiting characteristic patterns of behavior sufficient to distinguish it from others within an embracing culture or society
a criminal subculture
Examples of subculture in a Sentence
a subculture of local painters
a subculture of poverty and crime
Recent Examples on the Web
Harajuku Harajuku is the epicenter of Japanese street-fashion and fashion subcultures.
—
John Clifford, Travel + Leisure, 20 Apr. 2024
Whatever the forum, the subculture’s real-life effects have been persistent and deadly.
—USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Supporters of this parallel economy are part of a subculture that brings together modern-day conspiracy theories about COVID-19, elections, and transgender visibility with conservative values and free speech absolutism.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
Her career has since been marked by books that celebrate cities and their subcultures.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2024
In the first year of the trend life cycle, a new style is invented — that could be by subcultures in music or art or by fashion designers experimenting with new shapes or drawing from the archives.
—Kai McNamee, NPR, 11 Apr. 2024
After its explosive growth from a regional subculture to a multimillion-dollar international industry, hip-hop was at a zenith.
—Amy Dubois Barnett, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
An important California subculture popularized by Chicano communities after World War II, cruising was long popular in such places as East San Jose and Los Angeles.
—Judith Prieve, The Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2024
In this rapacious subculture, mobsters went into subdivisions and snapped up a half dozen homes at a time.
—Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 14 Mar. 2024
John Clifford, Travel + Leisure, 20 Apr. 2024
Whatever the forum, the subculture’s real-life effects have been persistent and deadly.
—USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Supporters of this parallel economy are part of a subculture that brings together modern-day conspiracy theories about COVID-19, elections, and transgender visibility with conservative values and free speech absolutism.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
Her career has since been marked by books that celebrate cities and their subcultures.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2024
In the first year of the trend life cycle, a new style is invented — that could be by subcultures in music or art or by fashion designers experimenting with new shapes or drawing from the archives.
—Kai McNamee, NPR, 11 Apr. 2024
After its explosive growth from a regional subculture to a multimillion-dollar international industry, hip-hop was at a zenith.
—Amy Dubois Barnett, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
An important California subculture popularized by Chicano communities after World War II, cruising was long popular in such places as East San Jose and Los Angeles.
—Judith Prieve, The Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2024
In this rapacious subculture, mobsters went into subdivisions and snapped up a half dozen homes at a time.
—Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 14 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'subculture.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near subculture
Cite this Entry
“Subculture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subculture. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
subculture
1 of 2 noun
sub·cul·ture
ˈsəb-ˌkəl-chər
1
: a culture (as of bacteria) derived from another culture
2
: an act or instance of producing a subculture
subculture
2 of 2 transitive verb
subcultured; subculturing
: to culture (as bacteria) anew on a fresh medium by inoculation from an older culture
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