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Glite Dictionary
🧩 A smaller part 💰 A small coin
subunit

subunit

5.5
A small money unit that is a fixed part of the main currency, like a cent
  • noun
  • /ˈsʌbˌjunɪt/
translation icon : subunidad

Examples

  • A virus subunit (from Harrison, fig. 11).

    Academic text (1995)

  • Each dose contained 1 x 10^11 heat-killed whole cells of Vibrio cholerae with 1 mg of the B subunit of cholera toxin per dose.

    Academic text (1992)

  • For example, in studies of tobacco plants, an antisense version of the gene coding for the small subunit of Rubisco was inserted, resulting in a range of genotypes with variable amounts of the Rubisco protein, which is responsible for carbon fixation in photosynthesis.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The euro is divided into 100 cents, making the cent a subunit of the euro.

  • In the United States, a dime is a subunit of a dollar, worth ten cents.

  • Each British pound is composed of 100 pence, where the penny serves as a subunit.

Synonyms

fractional monetary unit
vssubunit
  • Specialized
7.1

A small coin or unit worth one hundredth of the main unit of money

is simpler and more common phrasing used in everyday contexts

Surface Forms

subunit singular
subunits plural

Morphology

subunit = unit (transparent) = sub + unit

The prefix 'sub-' clearly indicates a smaller or subordinate part of the base word 'unit', making the meaning directly derivable.

Etymology

The word subunit comes from sub- meaning 'under' or 'less' and unit meaning 'one part', so in money a subunit is the smaller part of a currency, like a cent or pence, often 'one hundredth' of the main unit.