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

subcultural

ˌsəb-ˈkəlch-rəl

-ˈkəl-chə- 

adjective

subculturally adverb

subculture transitive verb

Examples of subculture in a Sentence

a subculture of local painters

a subculture of poverty and crime

Recent Examples on the Web

Several images show Bahraini men dressed as cowboys—a subculture that formed in part when graduates in the late sixties and seventies who attended colleges in Texas, where their exposure to Clint Eastwood and rodeo culture overlapped with an existing love of horses, returned home. —M. Z. Adnan, The New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2024

On platforms like TikTok and Instagram, a subculture of housewives had been rapidly growing in popularity. —Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 14 Nov. 2024

The band’s touring long held together a subculture of Deadheads who traded cassette recordings, traveled behind the band. —Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 26 Oct. 2024

But the five-years-long beef is a glimpse of a rap subculture suffocating on its own bloodlust. —Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Medical 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

subcultural

-ˈkəlch-(ə-)rəl 

adjective

subculturally

-ē 

adverb

subculture

2 of 2 transitive verb

subcultured; subculturing

: to culture (as bacteria) anew on a fresh medium by inoculation from an older culture