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

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

By Stephen Kearse Fight Club, David Fincher’s arch 1999 study of disaffected men, presents male rage as a subculture. —Stephen Kearse, The Atlantic, 15 Oct. 2024

With aesthetic roots in pre-Victorian Gothic fiction, goth was adapted into a black-shrouded subculture by fans of melancholic 1980s British rock bands like the Cure and Cocteau Twins and has, since then, been sliced, diced, and spliced into dozens of divergent factions. —Judy Berman, TIME, 10 Oct. 2024

But dandyism has deeper roots in African aesthetics, and has since become a transgressive subculture that is continuously revived around the world. —Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 9 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