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.

---

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

---

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

Washington’s intention to wage a humane and gentlemanly war for American independence was subsumed by proliferating mayhem, especially on the remote frontiers, where practices such as scalping were well established.

From The Wall Street Journal

They were deep in conversation and seemed familiar with one another, their words mostly subsumed by the music playing in the background.

From Literature

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