subsume

American  

[suhb-soom] / səbˈsum /

verb (used with object)

subsumed, subsuming

1. to consider or include (an idea, term, proposition, etc.) as part of a more comprehensive one.

2. to bring (a case, instance, etc.) under a rule.

3. to take up into a more inclusive classification.

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subsume British  

/ səbˈsjuːm /

verb

1. to incorporate (an idea, proposition, case, etc) under a comprehensive or inclusive classification or heading

2. to consider (an instance of something) as part of a general rule or principle

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Other Word Forms

• subsumable adjective

Etymology

Origin of subsume

First recorded in 1525–35; from Medieval Latin subsūmere, equivalent to Latin sub- “under, below, beneath”; + sūmere “to take”; sub-, consume

Example Sentences

The tiny microphone has taken over city streets and college towns, while subsuming video-based social media entirely.

From Salon

The novel echoes thinkers like Hannah Arendt in pointing out how true-believing functionaries, the butt of ridicule in “normal” times, can help subsume all reason and decency to usurp a compliant and too-comfortable ruling class.

From The Wall Street Journal

Even more consequential was the trust that the Barbers placed in Marshall Stearns, who had an academic pedigree in medieval literature and a subsuming interest in the ethnomusicology of jazz.

From The Wall Street Journal

The idea wasn’t to subsume or co-opt the radicals, but to delegitimize them.

From The Wall Street Journal

It's a vital question at a time when artificial intelligence threatens to subsume Hollywood.

From Barron's