Definition of subsidy

• n. - Support; aid; cooperation; esp., extraordinary aid in money rendered to the sovereign or to a friendly power.
• n. - Specifically: A sum of money paid by one sovereign or nation to another to purchase the cooperation or the neutrality of such sovereign or nation in war.
• n. - A grant from the government, from a municipal corporation, or the like, to a private person or company to assist the establishment or support of an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public; a subvention; as, a subsidy to the owners of a line of ocean steamships.