Meaning & use
subsidy
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Meanings
nouncountable
Money paid by a government or organization to reduce the cost of a product or service.
Grammar: Countable: a subsidy, subsidies. Often followed by 'for' or 'on': a subsidy for farmers, a subsidy on fuel.
Patterns
- a subsidy for something
- a subsidy on something
- government subsidy
The government provides a subsidy for renewable energy projects.
Farmers receive subsidies to grow certain crops.
The subsidy on public transport keeps fares low.
nouncountable or uncountable
Financial support given to an organization or activity to help it continue.
Grammar: Can be countable (a subsidy) or uncountable (rely on subsidy). Often used in the plural: arts subsidies.
Patterns
- rely on subsidy
- cut subsidies
- increase subsidies
The theater depends on a subsidy from the city council.
The company would not survive without subsidy.
The government announced cuts to subsidies for the arts.
Word forms
| plural | subsidies |
|---|
Common combinations
- government subsidy
- The industry relies heavily on government subsidies.
- subsidy for
- They applied for a subsidy for their housing costs.
- subsidy on
- The subsidy on electric cars has been reduced.
- cut subsidies
- The new budget cuts subsidies for fossil fuels.
- receive a subsidy
- Small businesses can receive a subsidy to hire apprentices.
Synonyms and how they differ
- grant
- A grant is money given for a specific purpose, often to individuals or researchers, and usually does not have to be repaid; a subsidy is typically from a government to lower prices or support an industry.
- allowance
- An allowance is a regular sum given for personal use or expenses; a subsidy is larger-scale support for an activity or industry.
- funding
- Funding is a general word for money provided for a project; a subsidy is a specific type of financial support from a government or organization.
Opposites
Word family
- subsidize verb
- To pay a subsidy to support something.
- subsidized adjective
- Supported by a subsidy.
Commonly confused: subsidy or subsidiary?
subsidy vs subsidiary
A subsidiary is a company owned by a larger company; a subsidy is money given as support.
Practice
The government introduced a new ______ to help small farmers.
Choose one answer.
'Subsidy' is the correct noun for financial support. 'Subsidiary' means a company owned by another; 'subsidence' means sinking of land; 'subside' is a verb meaning to become less intense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “subsidy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.