subtract
Americanverb (used with object)
-
subtracts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
subtracted,
past participle, past
-
subtracting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
subtracts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
subtracted,
past participle, past
-
subtracting
present participle
verb
-
to calculate the difference between (two numbers or quantities) by subtraction
-
to remove (a part of a thing, quantity, etc) from the whole
Usage
What does subtract mean? Subtract means to take something away, usually as in taking a piece out of a whole. In math, subtract means to perform subtraction, the operation in which you find difference between two numbers or quantities. You can subtract one thing from another, as in We need to subtract the cost of labor from our total profits. You can also subtract something without mentioning what you’re subtracting it from, as in If you subtract the busy traffic, my day wasn’t that bad. In other words, when you consider everything in my day, except for the traffic it wasn’t a bad day. For the most part, subtract usually refers to taking a small piece away from a bigger whole. However, subtracting can potentially result in negative amounts or debts when you’re subtracting numbers. When you first learned subtraction, your teacher might have said that when we subtract, we are “taking away” one number from another. For example, if you subtract 3 from 5, you take away 3 from 5, which leaves you with 2. Example: I need to remember to subtract my electric bill from my monthly budget.
Synonym Usage
Subtract, deduct express diminution in sum or quantity. To subtract suggests taking a part from a whole or a smaller from a larger: to subtract the tax from one's salary. To deduct is to take away an amount or quantity from an aggregate or total so as to lessen or lower it: to deduct a discount. Subtract is both transitive and intransitive, and has general or figurative uses; deduct is always transitive and usually concrete and practical in application.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
subtractsimple
-
subtractssimple
-
have subtractedperfect
-
has subtractedperfect
-
am subtractingprogressive
-
are subtractingprogressive
-
is subtractingprogressive
-
have been subtractingperfect progressive
-
has been subtractingperfect progressive
Past
-
subtractedsimple
-
had subtractedperfect
-
was subtractingprogressive
-
were subtractingprogressive
-
had been subtractingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of subtract
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin subtractus (past participle of subtrahere “to draw away from underneath”), equivalent to sub- sub- + trac- (past participle stem of trahere “to draw”) + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
In math, when you subtract, you take one number away from another. If you subtract four from ten, you're left with six. You can also use subtract to mean "take away" in a more general sense, as in "If you subtract some of the salt from the recipe, the pasta will be healthier." When you're doing math, you know you're supposed to subtract if you see a minus sign. Subtracting gives you the difference between numbers, and you can see this in a real way when you subtract actual objects instead of numbers. If you have a dozen cupcakes and subtract ten of them, you have only two cupcakes left. The Latin root of subtract is subtrahere, "take away or draw off."
Vocabulary lists containing subtract
Number and Operations: Fractions
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Measurement and Data
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
We then subtract tuition, income forgone during training, and other costs participants bear that aren’t reflected in the earnings estimate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Vinegar is firmly in the category of ingredients that are easier to add than subtract.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
Others say to subtract your age from 110.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
But subtract 500 acres for the data center, and you still have 379,679 acres of Nodaway County farmland left.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Dr. Harlow knows that Phineas can add and subtract, yet Phineas angrily refuses the deal.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
For starters, the policy rate is currently at the lower end of the estimated growth range for neutral, a level that neither stimulates or subtracts from growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
The deficit number Newsom presented Friday subtracts the $17.3 billion in cuts agreed to earlier from the $37.9-billion deficit estimate from January.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2024
“Italy says that immigration has to be managed at a European level, and now subtracts a part of this problem from the European debate,” he said.
From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2024
Terence Nicholson, the former manager of the gallery and a martial-arts adept, subtracts the pop-culture element with a shadowy video of real kung fu moves.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 31, 2023
Still, if one subtracts all the superstitious elements from the subject, there’s something appealing about the small residue that remains.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
And about $1 billion of any sale would be subtracted to cover the Dodgers’ future commitments on deferred contracts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Piper Sandler’s analysts estimated that rising earnings contributed about 18.5 percentage points to that return, while a shrinking price-to-earnings multiple subtracted nearly 8 percentage points.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
If U.S. levies remain in place, Mexico wants the value of U.S. content in goods it exports to be subtracted from tariffs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Abbott secretly subtracted a hidden value from measurements involving some of the experimental masses.
From Science Daily ● May 18, 2026
But something had been subtracted from the chorus of night noises.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Or the advice to determine your allocation to stocks versus bonds by subtracting your age from 100.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 7, 2026
On aggregate, the money foreign investors have put into Indian markets in the past decade - after subtracting what they sold or withdrew - is nearing zero.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Gross profit is revenue without subtracting the cost of production expenses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
That is similar to a 206,000-barrel daily increase announced in March and April, subtracting the portion allotted to the UAE.
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
I considered myself lucky if, after subtracting lapses from new business, there remained fifteen dollars that I could call my own.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
