subculture

noun

1. A portion of a culture distinguished by its customs or other features, often in contrast to the larger mainstream culture.

   “The goth subculture has its own mode of dress, and it has a characteristic musical style.”

   “Like those activities, bodybuilding is an obsession, a living (for a few), and a way of life for the people involved in it—a subculture, in a word, with its own values, aesthetics and vocabulary.”

   “Joybubbles (the legal name of the former Joe Engressia since 1991), a blind genius with perfect pitch who accidentally found he could make free phone calls by whistling tones and went on to play a pivotal role in the 1970s subculture of “phone phreaks,” died on Aug. 8 in Minneapolis.”

   “White Americans are transitioning toward minority status for the first time. As they do, perhaps their ways will be treated less as the default mainstream, and more as subcultures among subcultures.”

   “White evangelicals once saw themselves “as the owners of mainstream American culture and morality and values,” said Jones. Now they are just another subculture.”

2. A culture made by transferring microorganisms from a previous culture to a fresh growth medium

verb

1. To transfer (microorganisms) to a fresh growth medium in order to start a new culture

   “Cultures were subcultured by 20-fold dilution into fresh MS2D medium approximately every 7 d.”