subordinate clause
noun Grammar.
a clause that modifies the principal clause or some part of it or that serves a noun function in the principal clause, as when she arrived in the sentence I was there when she arrived or that she has arrived in the sentence I doubt that she has arrived.
Also called
de·pend·ent clause.
Compare
main clause.
Words nearby subordinate clause
suborbital,
suborder,
subordinal,
subordinary,
subordinate,
subordinate clause,
subordinated,
subordinated debt,
subordinating conjunction,
subordination,
subordinationism
British Dictionary definitions for subordinate clause
subordinate clause
noun
grammar
a clause with an adjectival, adverbial, or nominal function, rather than one that functions as a separate sentence in its own right
Compare coordinate clause, main clause