Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having a mass of fissionable material that is less than that needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction.
  • adjective Of less than critical importance.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Less than critical, or below criticality
  • adjective physics Having insufficient mass to sustain a chain reaction

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

sub- +‎ critical

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