subfloor

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noun

The floor structure supporting and underlying the visible flooring or other finishing surface such as a carpet

OriginEnglish floor ← Middle English flor ← Old English flōr →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

nounsubfloor (plural subfloors)

plural subfloors

  1. businessThe floor structure supporting and underlying the visible flooring or other finishing surface such as a carpet

    The original floor was still there: wide boards, laid tongue-in-groove, not the inferior subfloor they had predicted.

    2007 May 6, Tracie Rozhon, “The Good Bones Were Still There, Hidden Under the Additions”, in New York Times

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
underfloor

Origin

  1. Latinsub
  2. Latinsub-
  3. Englishsub-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*pleth₂-?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*pel-?
  6. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₂-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₂ros
  8. Proto-Germanic*flōraz
  9. Proto-Germanic*flōruz
  10. Proto-West Germanic*flōr
  11. Old Englishflōr
  12. Middle Englishflor
  13. Englishfloor
  14. Englishsubfloor

From sub- + floor.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Greek ψευδοπάτωμα
  • ψευδοπάτωμα (psevdopátoma)The floor structure supporting and underlying the visible flooring
Italian pavimentazione
  • pavimentazioneThe floor structure supporting and underlying the visible flooring
Polish podkład podłogowy
  • podkład podłogowyThe floor structure supporting and underlying the visible flooring
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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