subgroup

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A smaller group made by dividing a larger group based on a shared feature.

   Grammar: Countable; often followed by 'of': a subgroup of patients.

   Patterns

   • a subgroup of something
   • divide into subgroups
   • within a subgroup

   Researchers divided the participants into subgroups by age.

   Women form a small subgroup within the organization.

   The survey looked at a subgroup of frequent travelers.

2. 2nouncountablemathematicstechnical

   In mathematics, a set within a group that itself satisfies the rules of a group.

   Grammar: Technical; used in group theory and abstract algebra.

   Patterns

   • a subgroup of a group
   • the subgroup generated by

   The even numbers form a subgroup of the integers under addition.

   Every group has at least one subgroup, the group itself.

Word forms

Common combinations

a subgroup of

A subgroup of students volunteered for the extra lessons.

divide into subgroups

The teacher divided the class into subgroups for the project.

a small subgroup

Only a small subgroup reported side effects.

a subgroup analysis

The subgroup analysis showed different results for older patients.

Synonyms and how they differ

subset

Subset is used in mathematics and logic for any smaller collection; subgroup is more common in everyday language for people or things.

subdivision

Subdivision means the act of dividing or a part created by division; subgroup focuses on the group itself.

Opposites

Word family

group noun

A number of people or things together.

Commonly confused: subgroup or subset?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “subgroup”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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