subsume
Americanverb (used with object)
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to consider or include (an idea, term, proposition, etc.) as part of a more comprehensive one.
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to bring (a case, instance, etc.) under a rule.
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to take up into a more inclusive classification.
verb
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to incorporate (an idea, proposition, case, etc) under a comprehensive or inclusive classification or heading
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to consider (an instance of something) as part of a general rule or principle
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
Explanation
Subsume means to absorb or include. A successful company might subsume a failing competitor through a merger, or love may subsume you in the early stages of a romance. Subsume is a verb that comes from the Latin words sub, which means “from below,” and sumere, which means “take.” So subsume means “to take from below,” like a sneak attack by some kind of deep-sea creature. Sailors and scuba divers should beware of monsters from the blackest depths waiting to subsume them.
Vocabulary lists containing subsume
Latin Root "sub" Words
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Divergent
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The Boys in the Boat
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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.
It's a vital question at a time when artificial intelligence threatens to subsume Hollywood.
From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025
As directed by Mr. Villazón, the chorus, which plays a major role in the opera, is not benign: Its goal is to subsume Amina and suppress rebellion.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025
Eventually, this observation takes on remarkable proportions as their lives subsume his own after he begins handling their public relations concerns.
From Salon • Oct. 25, 2024
Here, Freiman scratches at the difference between knowing and knowingness, and how our blind spots can subsume our personality.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2023
We are invited to subsume questions of law and of the application of law under the social ideal of the time and place.
From An Introduction to the Philosophy of Law by Pound, Roscoe
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.