sub

1. 1.

   a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States

   Synonymsbombergrinderherohero sandwichhoagiehoagyCuban sandwichItalian sandwichpoor boysubmarinesubmarine sandwichtorpedowedgezep

   Broadersandwich
2. 2.

   a submersible warship usually armed with torpedoes

   SynonymssubmarinepigboatU-boat

   Broadersubmersible

   Narrowerattack submarineauxiliary research submarinefleet ballistic missile submarinenautilus

   Partsconning towerescape hatchperiscopesnorkelsonar

1. 1.

   be a substitute

   “The young teacher had to substitute for the sick colleague”

   “The skim milk substitutes for cream--we are on a strict diet”

   Synonymssubstitutestand infill in

   Broaderexchange

Other forms of sub

plural

subs·

past tense or participle

subbed

present participle

subbing

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about sub

What does sub mean?

sub means "a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in sub?

sub has 1 syllable: sub. In IPA it is /ˈsʌb/.

What is another word for sub?

Close synonyms include bomber, grinder, hero, hero sandwich, hoagie. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is sub a common word?

sub is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.