subcontractor

S1U1B3C3O1N1T1R1A1C3T1O1R1

noun

A contractor hired by another contractor (often a general contractor) and thus employed by that contractor rather than directly hired by the customer.

Similar
sub
OriginEnglish contractor ← Latin sub- ← Proto-Italic *supo →
Less commonScrabble 19
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Meanings

nounsubcontractor (plural subcontractors)

plural subcontractors

  1. A contractor hired by another contractor (often a general contractor) and thus employed by that contractor rather than directly hired by the customer.

    Synonyms: sub

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA contractor hired by another contractor (often a general contractor) and thus employed by that contractor rather than directly hired by the customer.

Similar
sub

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*upó
  2. Proto-Italic*supo
  3. Latinsub
  4. Latinsub-
  5. Englishsub-
  6. Englishcontractor
  7. Englishsubcontractor

From sub- + contractor.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic مقاول
  • مقاولcontractor hired by contractor
Bulgarian подизпълнител
  • подизпълнител (podizpălnitel)contractor hired by contractor
Catalan subcontractor
  • subcontractorcontractor hired by contractor
Chinese Mandarin 分包商
  • 分包商 (fēnbāoshāng)contractor hired by contractor
Dutch onderaannemer, toeleverancier
  • onderaannemercontractor hired by contractor
  • toeleveranciercontractor hired by contractor
Finnish alihankkija, aliurakoitsija
  • alihankkijacontractor hired by contractor
  • aliurakoitsijacontractor hired by contractor
French sous-traitant, sous-traitante
  • sous-traitantcontractor hired by contractor
  • sous-traitantecontractor hired by contractor
German Subunternehmer
  • Subunternehmercontractor hired by contractor
Greek υπεργολάβος
  • υπεργολάβος (ypergolávos)contractor hired by contractor
Hungarian alvállalkozó
  • alvállalkozócontractor hired by contractor
Irish fochonraitheoir
  • fochonraitheoircontractor hired by contractor
Polish podwykonawca
  • podwykonawcacontractor hired by contractor
Portuguese subempreiteiro
  • subempreiteirocontractor hired by contractor
Russian субподря́дчик, заво́д-подря́дчик
  • субподря́дчик (subpodrjádčik)contractor hired by contractor
  • заво́д-подря́дчик (zavód-podrjádčik)contractor hired by contractor
  • сме́жник (sméžnik)contractor hired by contractor
Scottish Gaelic fo-chunnradair
  • fo-chunnradaircontractor hired by contractor
Swedish underleverantör
  • underleverantörcontractor hired by contractor
Turkish taşeron
  • taşeroncontractor hired by contractor
Welsh isgontractiwr
  • isgontractiwrcontractor hired by contractor
Cite this entry
APA

subcontractor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subcontractor

MLA

“subcontractor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subcontractor. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “subcontractor,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subcontractor.

Source: subcontractor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.