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subject

sub·jectUK /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒɪkt/adjective, noun, verb

subject is spelled S-U-B-J-E-C-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables (sub·ject). It appears 91 times per million words in written English, the 1,167th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, subject means “Likely to be affected by or to experience something; liable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in subject?

Letters7: S-U-B-J-E-C-T
Syllables2: sub·ject
In writing91 times per million words; the 1,167th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is subject?

Subject appears 91 times per million words in written English, the 1,167th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce subject?

  • /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒɛkt/
  • UK /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒɪkt/

As a verb (“To cause (someone or something) to undergo a particular…”): /səbˈd͡ʒɛkt/, /sʌbˈd͡ʒɛkt/.

Subject has 2 syllables, split sub·ject in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-subject-noun.ogg, En-us-subject-verb.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of subject

  • more subject comparative
  • most subject superlative
  • subjects plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • subjecting participle, present
  • subjected participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does subject mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Likely to be affected by or to experience something; liable.

    a country subject to extreme heat

  2. 2

    Conditional upon something; used with to.

    The local board sets local policy, subject to approval from the State Board.

  3. 3

    Placed or situated under; lying below, or in a lower situation.

  4. 4

    Placed under the power of another; owing allegiance to a particular sovereign or state.

    , Book I Esau was never subject to Jacob.

noun

  1. 1

    The noun, pronoun or noun phrase about whom the statement is made. In active clauses with verbs denoting an action, the subject is the actor. In clauses in the passive voice the subject is the target of the action.

    In the active sentence ‘The cat ate the mouse’, ‘the cat’ is the subject and ‘the mouse’ is the object.

  2. 2

    By extension: an actor or agent; one who takes action.

    the subjects and objects of power

  3. 3

    The main topic of a paper, work of art, discussion, field of study, etc.

  4. 4

    A particular area of study.

    Her favorite subject is physics.

  5. 5

    A citizen in a monarchy.

    I am a British subject.

  6. 6

    A person ruled over by another, especially a monarch or state authority.

  7. 7

    The main theme or melody, especially in a fugue.

  8. 8

    A human, animal, or an inanimate object that is being examined, treated, analysed, etc; especially, one being studied in a scientific experiment, such as a clinical trial.

    human subject research

verb

  1. 1

    To cause (someone or something) to undergo a particular experience, especially one that is unpleasant or unwanted.

    I came here to buy souvenirs, not to be subjected to a tirade of abuse!

  2. 2

    To make subordinate or subservient; to subdue or enslave; to subjugate.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate subject?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of subject: subj.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Subject in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchsujet (à) (likely to be affected by something), sujet (conditional upon), soumis (placed under the power of another), matière, discipline (particular area of study), soumettre (à) (to cause to undergo)
Germanunterliegend, ausgesetzt (likely to be affected by something), abhängig, vorbehaltlich (conditional upon), untertan (placed under the power of another), Satzgegenstand (in grammar)
Portuguesesujeito (likely to be affected by something), disciplina (particular area of study), submeter (to cause to undergo), matéria, assunto (main topic), súdito (citizen in a monarchy)
Spanishsujeto (likely to be affected by something), supeditado (conditional upon), subjeto (in grammar), materia, tema, asunto (main topic)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does subject come from?

From Middle English subget, from Old French suget, from Latin subiectus (“lying under or near, adjacent, also subject, exposed”), as a noun, subiectus (“a subject, an inferior”), subiectum (“the subject of a proposition”), past participle of subiciō (“throw, lay, place”), from sub (“under, at the foot of”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”), as a calque of Ancient Greek ὑποκείμενον (hupokeímenon).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after subject