- 1 a thing or person that is being discussed, described or dealt with an unpleasant subject of conversation books on many different subjects a magazine article on the subject of space travel I have nothing more to say on the subject. I wish you'd change the subject (= talk about something else). How did we get onto the subject of marriage? We seem to have got off the subject we're meant to be discussing. Nelson Mandela is the subject of a new biography. Climate change is still very much a subject for debate. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebig, complex, complicated, … verb + subjectcover, debate, discuss, … subject + verbarise, come up, range from something to something, … subject + nounmatter prepositionon a/the subject, subject of phrasesa range of subjects, a variety of subjects See full entry at school/college
- 2 an area of knowledge studied in a school, college, etc. Biology is my favourite subject. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivedifficult, easy, compulsory, … verb + subjecttake, offer, choose, … subject + nounarea prepositionin a/the subject phrasesa choice of subject, a choice of subjects, a range of subjects, … See full entry See related entries: Subjects and courses of picture/photograph
- 3a person or thing that is the main feature of a picture or photograph, or that a work of art is based on Focus the camera on the subject. Classical landscapes were a popular subject with many 18th century painters. of experiment
- 4a person or thing being used to study something, especially in an experiment We need male subjects between the ages of 18 and 25 for the experiment. See related entries: Experiments and research grammar
- 5a noun, noun phrase or pronoun representing the person or thing that performs the action of the verb (I in I sat down.), about which something is stated (the house in the house is very old) or, in a passive sentence, that is affected by the action of the verb (the tree in the tree was blown down in the storm) compare object, predicate Wordfindergrammarcase, conjugate, gender, grammar, inflect, noun, part of speech, singular, subject, tense of country
- 6a person who has the right to belong to a particular country, especially one with a king or queen a British subject More Like This Pronunciation changes by part of speech abuse, alternate, advocate, approximate, contract, converse, convict, decrease, delegate, discount, duplicate, estimate, export, extract, graduate, import, intimate, moderate, object, permit, present, protest, record, refund, refuse, subject, suspect, survey, torment, upgradeSee worksheet. Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘(person) owing obedience’): from Old French suget, from Latin subjectus ‘brought under’, past participle of subicere, from sub- ‘under’ + jacere ‘throw’. Senses relating to philosophy, logic, and grammar are derived ultimately from Aristotle's use of to hupokeimenon meaning ‘material from which things are made’ and ‘subject of attributes and predicates’.Extra examples Can we talk about a more cheerful subject? Don’t change the subject. Each candidate has to speak for three minutes on her chosen subject. Getting back to the subject of heating, has anyone got any suggestions for improvements? He did well in every subject. His unusual choice of subjects made it harder to find a job. I don’t wish to discuss it any further—the subject is closed. I have spent a lifetime studying this subject. I like the way she writes, although I’m not interested in her subject matter. I wasn’t quite sure how to deal with the delicate subject of money. I wish he’d stick to the subject rather than telling us his boring stories. Internet courses on diverse subjects ranging from nursing to computers Let’s drop the subject since we don’t seem to be able to agree. None of the study subjects altered his or her diet in any other way. Once he gets onto his pet subject there’s no stopping him. She touches on a wide variety of subjects. She was disappointed to fail in two of her four subjects. She was supposed to be speaking about sales figures, but she kept wandering off the subject. Students are free to drop the subject at age 14. The department offers seven different subjects in all. The subject of gambling has come up several times recently. The syllabus is divided into five subject areas. This chapter deals with a very serious subject. We discussed a wide range of subjects. We touched briefly on the subject. We want to have a fresh look at the difficult subject of corporate fraud. What subjects are you taking at A level? While we’re on the subject of books, has anyone read ‘The Corrections’? While we’re on the subject of the theatre, has anyone been to see the new show? Work is a taboo subject when we go out for dinner. books on such diverse subjects as trains and ancient sculpture research on human subjects students of technical subjects the subject of the new painting those who teach core subjects like English British subjects and Commonwealth citizens do not need visas. Climate change is still very much a subject for debate. I wish you’d change the subject. My favourite subject is biology. The core subjects are English, maths and science. The prince had to tax his subjects heavily to raise money for the war. We seem to have got off the subject we’re meant to be discussing.
noun jump to other results
BrE BrE//ˈsʌbdʒɪkt//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsʌbdʒɪkt//; BrE BrE//ˈsʌbdʒekt//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsʌbdʒekt//
Experiments and research, Subjects and coursesCheck pronunciation: subject
