subword

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noun

A substring.

UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

nounsubword (plural subwords)

plural subwords

  1. mathematicsA substring.
  2. computingA portion of a word (fixed-size group of bits).
adjectivesubword (not comparable)
  1. not comparablecomputingOf less than a word (fixed-size group of bits).

    Therefore, to implement this packed add operation, it is necessary and sufficient to block the carry propagation across the subword boundaries.

    2001, Yu Hen Hu, Programmable Digital Signal Processors: Architecture, page 98

Origin

From sub- + word.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

subword. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subword

MLA

“subword.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subword. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “subword,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subword.

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