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”; see 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.
And Tucker Carlson’s sobriety story, where even in a moment of honest vulnerability, one can feel the fictional character he plays on television ready to subsume the man at any moment.
From Slate • Feb. 15, 2026
The idea wasn’t to subsume or co-opt the radicals, but to delegitimize them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025
It's a vital question at a time when artificial intelligence threatens to subsume Hollywood.
From Barron's • Oct. 31, 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
Similarly the actions of animal life depend upon and subsume the laws of organic matter.
From On the Genesis of Species by Mivart, St. George
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.
