Subplot
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A plot within a story, subsidiary to the main plot.
"1978, R.B. Lee & R. Misiorowski, Script Models: A Handbook for the Media Writer, Subplot, a story line enclosed within the principal story to provide relief from the main plot's tension, add character dimension, etc."
- 2 A subdivision of a plot of land, especially one used for an agricultural experiment.
"[...] on sixteen 8/10-acre plots (12.8 acres) well distributed over the area. [...] A 1/160-acre subplot was established in a randomly chosen corner of each [...]"
- 1 To provide (a story) with a subplot. transitive
"In the pictures of places, too, an author uses economy; and for his plot, complicated and subplotted as it may seem, he cannot count on having vast stretches of eternity in which to elaborate forever."
Example
More examples"Chapter five focused on the romantic subplot of the novel."
Etymology
From sub- + plot.
More for "subplot"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.