subsidy
/ˈsʌbsɪdi/noun
subsidy is spelled S-U-B-S-I-D-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.6 times per million words in written English, the 13,695th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, subsidy means “Financial support or assistance, such as a grant” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of subsidy is subsidies.
How many letters and syllables are in subsidy?
| Letters | 7: S-U-B-S-I-D-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.6 times per million words; the 13,695th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is subsidy?
Subsidy appears 3.6 times per million words in written English, the 13,695th 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 subsidy?
- US /ˈsʌbsɪdi/
- Australia /ˈsɐbsɪdi/
- /ˈsɐbsədi/
Subsidy has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-subsidy.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-subsidy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of subsidy
- subsidies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does subsidy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Financial support or assistance, such as a grant.
Manufacturing firms are supported by government subsidies in some countries.
- 2
datedMoney granted by parliament to the British Crown.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Subsidy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense financial support:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | subvention, subside |
| German | Subvention, Unterstützung, Subsidium |
| Portuguese | subsídio, subvenção |
| Spanish | subsidio |
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 subsidy come from?
From Middle English subsidy, subsidie, from Anglo-Norman subsidee, subsidie, from Old French subside, from Latin subsidium (support, assistance), from subsido from sub- (“below”) + sīdō (“sit”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).