Meaning of subject in English

subject
noun [ C ]
uk

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/ˈsʌb.dʒekt/ us

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/ˈsʌb.dʒekt/

subject noun [C] (AREA OF DISCUSSION)

B1
the thing that is being discussed, considered, or studied:
Our subject for discussion is homelessness.
She has made a series of documentaries on the subject of family relationships.
The guest lecturer took as her subject (= decided to speak about) "punishment and imprisonment in modern society".
The number of planes flying over the town has been the subject of (= has caused) concern since last summer.
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Topics & areas of interest
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subject noun [C] (AREA OF STUDY)

A1
an area of knowledge that is studied in school, college, or university:
My favourite subjects at school were history and English.
mainly UK Her subject (= special area of study) is low-temperature physics.
 change the subject
B2
to start talking about a different subject:
I'd tried to explain the situation, but he just changed the subject.
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Subjects & disciplines
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subject noun [C] (STORY/PAINTING)

C2
a person, thing, or situation that is written about in a book, article, etc. or shown in a picture, etc.:
The mill by the bridge was the subject of an unfinished painting by J. M. W. Turner.
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Topics & areas of interest
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subject noun [C] (GRAMMAR)

B1 language   specialized
the person or thing that performs the action of a verb, or is joined to a description by a verb:
"Bob" is the subject of the sentence "Bob threw the ball."
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object noun (GRAMMAR) specialized
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Linguistic terms & linguistic style
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subject noun [C] (PERSON)

a person who lives in or who has the right to live in a particular country, especially a country with a king or queen:
He is a British subject.
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citizen
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Countries, nationalities & continents: country & nation
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Grammar

Dummy subjects
English clauses which are not imperatives must have a subject. Sometimes we need to use a ‘dummy’ or ‘empty’ or ‘artificial’ subject when there is no subject attached to the verb, and where the real subject is somewhere else in the clause. It and there are the two dummy subjects used in English: …
It as a dummy subject
We often use it as a dummy subject with adjectives and their complements: …
There as a dummy subject
There operates as a dummy subject in the construction there is or there are. There is/are indicates that something or someone exists or is in a particular place or situation: …
Subjects
A subject is one of the five major elements of clause structure. The other four are: verb, object, complement and adjunct. Subjects are essential in declarative, negative and interrogative clauses. …
Subject position
In statements (declarative clauses), the subject comes before the verb: …
Dummy subjects
The subject is an essential part of a clause. Sometimes we need to use a ‘dummy’ subject where there is no other subject to put in the subject position. We use it or there as subjects: …
No subject
In imperative clauses (orders, instructions, requests) we don’t include the subject: …
Subjects: typical errors
…
Subject–verb agreement
The person and number of the subject of the clause determine the person and number of the verb of the clause. This is called subject–verb agreement or concord: …
Subject complements
A subject complement gives us more information about the subject. It usually comes after linking verbs and sense verbs (including be, seem, smell, taste), and after change of state verbs (including go, get, become). …
Subject complements: parts of speech
Subject complements can be adjective phrases, noun phrases, adverb phrases or prepositional phrases: …
Pronouns as subject complements
When we use a pronoun as a subject complement after be, we usually use an object pronoun (e.g. me, him, us): …
subject
verb [ T ]
uk

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/səbˈdʒekt/ us

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/səbˈdʒekt/
to defeat people or a country and then control them against their wishes and limit their freedom:
The invaders quickly subjected the local tribes.
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Ruling & governing
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Phrasal verb

subject sb/sth to sth
subject
adjective
uk

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/ˈsʌb.dʒekt/ us

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/ˈsʌb.dʒekt/

subject adjective (HAVING)

 be subject to sth
C1
to have or experience a particular thing, especially something unpleasant:
Cars are subject to a high domestic tax.
In recent years, she has been subject to attacks of depression.
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Experiencing and suffering
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subject adjective (DEPEND)

 subject to sth
C2
only able to happen if something else happens:
We plan to go on Wednesday, subject to your approval.
Moving all the books should not take long, subject to there being (= if there are) enough helpers.
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Being based on or depending on something
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subject adjective (GOVERN)

[ before noun ]
under the political control of another country or state:
subject peoples/states
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Ruling & governing
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(Definition of subject from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

subject | American Dictionary

subject
noun [ C ]
us

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/ˈsʌb·dʒɪkt, -dʒekt/

subject noun [C] (AREA OF DISCUSSION)

something that is being discussed or considered:
School officials broached the subject of extending the school year.
It seemed like a good idea to change the subject.

subject noun [C] (SCHOOL COURSE)

an area of knowledge that is studied in school or college:
My favorite subjects are history and geography.

subject noun [C] (PERSON)

a person who lives or who has the right to live in a particular country, esp. a country with a king or queen:
a British subject

subject noun [C] (GRAMMAR)

grammar
the person or thing that performs the action of a verb, or which is joined to a description by a verb:
"Bob" is the subject of the sentence, "Bob threw the ball."
(Definition of subject from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

subject | Business English

subject
adjective
uk

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/ˈsʌbdʒɪkt/ us

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 subject to sth
likely to have or experience a particular thing, especially something unpleasant:
be subject to a charge/fee/tariff You may be subject to additional bank charges for currency conversion.
The company could be subject to a hostile takeover.
Income from investment of the capital will be subject to tax.
depending on the stated thing happening:
The $1.14 billion project is subject to approval by the board.
Outline planning permission has been granted, subject to a public inquiry, for a new 10,000-seat stadium on the land.
Tax laws are subject to change.
The notice period for clients to leave the agency are subject to contract.
under the political control or authority of something:
The casinos are located on tribal lands not subject to state or local laws.
 subject to average
INSURANCE
used about an insurance agreement when the amount of insurance on a property is less than the real value of the property, so the amount paid out by the company will be reduced:
You must adequately insure yourself otherwise you may find yourself subject to average.
(Definition of subject from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of subject

subject
The word permitted a nonscientific psychological preoccupation to reappear as the subject of scientific experiment.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The verbal gerund, by contrast, can combine with adverbs, auxiliaries, ordinary objects, and common-case subjects.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
More examples Fewer examples
Aquatic organic matter is subject to a hard-water error and is therefore not usable.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
To test the role of purely spatial global properties, the luminance distribution in each image was subjected to a spatial-frequency analysis.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The literature on this subject could have been strengthened by recent high-profile publications.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The order of the assessments (medical and psychological) was randomly assigned within each subject group.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
In several instances, he returns to subjects treated earlier in the book, such as children's education and the evolution from scrolls to codices.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Only nine subjects actively refused to participate in the study; the others were lost to follow-up or failed to return the consent form.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These were replaced by the next highest reading time for that subject in that condition and at that position.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Correspondingly, adult subjects do not favor the correct parabolic trajectory over other paths.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
In both of these situations, social subjects enact authentication by historicizing their identities through claims of linguistic continuity with a valued past.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Among the subjects who were depressed in the initial interview, 34% had recovered, 39% were depressed and 27% were dead.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Their only pleasures are drink and tobacco, the former being subjected to temperance campaigns to remove even this form of recreation from the workers' lives.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The same pronoun is used for both masculine and feminine individuals and for subject and object case roles.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Such regularities in conversations are the subject matter of sociolinguistics - the study of how social settings and roles influence language use.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Translations of subject

in Chinese (Traditional)
學習領域, （討論、考慮或研究的）主題，話題, 問題…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
学习领域, （讨论、考虑或研究的）主题，话题, 问题…
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in Spanish
asignatura, materia, tema…
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in Portuguese
matéria, assunto, sujeito…
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in more languages
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in Turkish
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in Czech
in Danish
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in Polish
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in German
in Norwegian
in Korean
in Italian
in Russian
教科, 科目, 題目…
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konu, mevzu, ders…
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sujet [masculine], matière [feminine], soumettre à…
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assignatura, matèria, tema…
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مادّة دِراسِيّة, مَوضوع, فاعِل (نَحو)…
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poddaný, závislý, -á…
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underlagt, undersåt, emne…
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terjajah, rakyat, bahan percakapan…
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ซึ่งขึ้นอยู่กับ, ผู้อยู่ภายใต้การปกครอง, หัวข้อ…
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lệ thuộc, dưới quyền, dân…
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temat, przedmiot, podmiot…
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dijajah, orang, tajuk…
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abhängig, der Untertan / die Untertanin, der Gegenstad…
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tema [neuter], emne [neuter], fag [neuter]…
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과목, 주제, 주어…
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materia, soggetto, argomento…
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тема, предмет, предмет (учебный)…
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subgroup
subharmonic BETA
subheading
subhuman
subject
subject line
subject matter
subject sb/sth to sth
subject someone/something to something
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