deduct
Americanverb (used with object)
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deducts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deducted,
past participle, past
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deducting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
deducts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deducted,
past participle, past
-
deducting
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
See subtract.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deductsimple
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deductssimple
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have deductedperfect
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has deductedperfect
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am deductingprogressive
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are deductingprogressive
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is deductingprogressive
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have been deductingperfect progressive
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has been deductingperfect progressive
Past
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deductedsimple
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had deductedperfect
-
was deductingprogressive
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were deductingprogressive
-
had been deductingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deduct
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin dēductus “brought down, withdrawn,” past participle of dēdūcere; see deduce
Explanation
To deduct is to remove or take away some amount. If your boss deducts money from your paycheck because you're always late to work, she subtracts it. When taxes are withheld from your salary, your employer deducts them to pay your contribution. Each time you use a debit card, it deducts the amount you spend from your bank account. A different way to deduct is to come to a reasoned, thoughtful conclusion, or to deduce. The two words were once interchangeable, while now it's more common to use deduct to mean "remove a portion," and deduce to mean "infer logically."
Vocabulary lists containing deduct
Lead the Way: Duc and Duct
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: duc, duct
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The lender owes tax on the interest, and the borrower often can deduct it if he or she itemizes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
It also lets people who give money to them deduct the donations from their taxes, an incentive that helps schools fundraise.
From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026
But unlike state sales taxes in America, under a VAT businesses can deduct or refund the VAT they’ve paid on their own purchases of raw materials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Tax Court, which weighs in on disputes between taxpayers and the IRS, routinely issues decisions about when businesses are allowed to deduct expenses that also happen to seem like a lot of fun.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Ned wouldn’t even have to worry about handling the six dollars—Holmes would deduct it from the new eighteen-dollar salary each week, automatically.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
It calls it a capital investment, and deducts it from earnings little by little.
From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025
The company says it doesn’t charge interest on the cash it extends to people between paychecks but deducts what it calls “voluntary tips” upon repayment, the records show.
From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2025
If you’re younger than 67 for the entire year, the government deducts $1 from your benefit payments for every $2 you earn above the annual limit, according to the Social Security Administration.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2025
BetMGM said its so-called contribution from operations—a metric that deducts cost of revenue and marketing-acquisition spending from net revenue—is still expected to exceed $500 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2025
Emerson deducts from nature the doctrine of evolution.
From Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Edna Henry Lee Turpin
The punishment could range from a huge fine, being deducted points or ejected from the Premier League, to being stripped of the eight trophies they had won in the affected period.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Everton had their own run in with Premier League financial rules when they were charged and deducted 10 points for more minor breaches in November 2023, reduced to six on appeal.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
The understanding is that whatever she gives him would be deducted from his share of her estate after she dies.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Their rates start at 260 percent annually, quadruple those of banks, with the payments deducted from the workers' earnings.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
“It's all there. I only deducted the glass beetle your brother broke last time. Sign the receipt here. You can write, I hope?”
From "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke
After deducting administrative fees, proceeds from the Disney plates would go toward services provided by hospitals and clinics that are not covered by insurance or a patient.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
That is 7.5 times invested capital, on a net basis after deducting fees, compared with the median multiple of 1.6 for funds in the 2018 vintage, according to Carta, which tracks private markets data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
On a good day, he takes home between 900 and 1,000 rupees, after deducting money spent on fuel and food.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026
And this is before deducting other costs, such as advisory fees, fund management and trading fees, and taxes.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 3, 2025
And now let us compare Ketteler's account, deducting the abusive comments subjoined to every sentence, with the—of course extremely compressed—account in the telegram, and we shall find the two in substantial agreement.
From Letters From Rome on the Council by Johann Joseph Ignaz von D?llinger
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
