How to use subplot in a sentence

11 example sentences · noun, verb

Subplot means a plot within a story, subsidiary to the main plot. Example: “An early edit of the film included a romantic subplot.”

Examples of subplot by meaning

nounA plot within a story, subsidiary to the main plot.

Structurally, the two most variant scenes (outside of Scene ii) are Scenes 3 and 4 in which the compiler works out the variant subplot.1998, Stephen Roy Miller, The Taming of a Shrew: the 1594 quarto

verbTo provide (a story) with a subplot.

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.1965, Percival Hunt, The Gift of the Unicorn: Essays on Writing, page 70

More sentences with subplot

An early edit of the film included a romantic subplot.From the entry edit
It’s kind of great, if you groove on Richard Brautigan and can dig a vermiculture subplot.2010 April 22, Blake Wilson, “'Divine Right's Trip': A Forgotten Hippie Novel”, in New York Times ArtsBeat. From the entry vermiculture
But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55. From the entry but
But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America's discomfort and its foes' glee.2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, London: Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the…. From the entry hover
And I lost the subplot, the script, the soundtrack, the intermission, my popcorn, the credits and the exit sign.1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 25. From the entry lose the plot
This ill-chosen subplot also means that Kingsolver must make Cash Stillwater (named for his mother's favorite singer, Johnny Cash) more than just a returning widower.2014, Linda Wagner-Martin, Barbara Kingsolver's World: Nature, Art, and the Twenty-First Century, →ISBN. From the entry cash
And, they pointed out in lawyerspeak, “the subplot in plaintiffs’ screenplay about Gordo and his defecation obsession has no analogue in defendants’ motion picture.”2007 February 22, William Glaberson, “Dodgeballs and Jokes May Seem Too Close for Comfort”, in New York Times. From the entry lawyerspeak
In this split-plot design a field colony represents a whole plot and one of the four experimental subcolonies is nested within the whole plot (representing a subplot).2015 July 22, “Effect of Carbohydrate Supplementation on Investment into Offspring Number, Size, and Condition in a Social Insect”, in…. From the entry subcolonies
Stage Door does both, contrasting more aggressive, bepanted characters with meeker, more feminine ones while also playing out the subplot of Tony Powell’s affairs and Judy’s dates with lumbermen.2002, Judith Roof, “Spatial Attractions”, in All about Thelma and Eve: Sidekicks and Third Wheels, Urbana, Ill.; Chicago, Ill.: University…. From the entry bepanted

Meaning of subplot

noun A plot within a story, subsidiary to the main plot.
noun A subdivision of a plot of land, especially one used for an agricultural experiment.
verb To provide (a story) with a subplot.

Full definition of subplot

Questions about subplot in a sentence

How do you use subplot in a sentence?: Subplot is used as a noun and verb. For example: “An early edit of the film included a romantic subplot.”
What is a short sentence with subplot?: “An early edit of the film included a romantic subplot.”
What does subplot mean?: Subplot means a plot within a story, subsidiary to the main plot.

Adapted from Wiktionary: subplot (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use subplot in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/subplot. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.