sub

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

sub, n. 

•  A subordinate; a subaltern.  [1913 Webster]
•  a shortened form of submarine, the boat.  [PJC]
•  a shortened form of submarine sandwich; also called hero, hero sandwich, and grinder.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

sub, n. & v. colloq.
--n.
1 a submarine.
2 a subscription.
3 a substitute.
4 a sub-editor.
5 Mil. a subaltern.
6 Brit. an advance or loan against expected income.
--v. (subbed, subbing)
1 intr. (usu. foll. by for) act as a substitute for a person.
2 tr. Brit. lend or advance (a sum) to (a person) against expected income.
3 tr. sub-edit.

Etymology

abbr.

THESAURUS

sub

U-boat, U-boot, Unterseeboot, act for, agent, alternate, alternative, analogy, backup, change, change places with, changeling, collateral, common, comparison, copy, counterfeit, crowd out, cut out, demeaning, dependent, deputy, disadvantaged, displace, double, double for, dummy, equal, equivalent, ersatz, exchange, fake, fill in for, fill-in, ghost, ghostwrite, ghostwriter, humble, imitation, in the shade, inferior, infra dig, junior, less, lesser, locum tenens, low, lower, lowly, makeshift, metaphor, metonymy, minor, modest, next best thing, ordinary, personnel, phony, pigboat, pinch hitter, pinch-hit, proxy, relief, relieve, replace, replacement, represent, representative, reserves, ringer, second rank, second string, secondary, servile, sign, spares, spell, spell off, stand in for, stand-in, subaltern, subject, submarine, submersible, subordinate, subrogate, subservient, substituent, substitute, substitute for, substitution, succedaneum, succeed, supersede, superseder, supplant, supplanter, surrogate, swap places with, symbol, synecdoche, third rank, third string, token, tributary, under, underprivileged, understudy, understudy for, utility player, vicar, vice-president, vice-regent, vulgar

ROGET THESAURUS

sub

Inferiority

N inferiority, minority, subordinacy, shortcoming, deficiency, minimum, smallness, imperfection, lower quality, lower worth, commonalty, inferior, smaller, small, minor, less, lesser, deficient, minus, lower, subordinate, secondary, secondrate, sub, subaltern, thrown into the shade, weighed in the balance and found wanting, not fit to hold a candle to, can't hold a candle to, least, smallest &c (little) (small), lowest, diminished, reduced, unimportant, less, under the mark, below the mark, below par, at the bottom of the scale, at a low ebb, at a disadvantage, short of, under.