subtract

American  

[suhb-trakt] / səbˈtrækt /

verb (used with object)

• subtracts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• subtracted,
  past participle,  past
• subtracting
  present participle

1. to withdraw or take away, as a part from a whole.

   Antonyms:

   add

2. Mathematics. to take (one number or quantity) from another; deduct.

   Antonyms:

   add

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verb (used without object)

• subtracts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• subtracted,
  past participle,  past
• subtracting
  present participle

1. to take away something or a part, as from a whole.

   Antonyms:

   add

subtract British  

/ səbˈtrækt /

verb

1. to calculate the difference between (two numbers or quantities) by subtraction

2. to remove (a part of a thing, quantity, etc) from the whole

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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

• subtracter
  noun
• unsubtracted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• subtracting
  present
• subtracted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• subtract
  simple
• subtracts
  simple
• have subtracted
  perfect
• has subtracted
  perfect
• am subtracting
  progressive
• are subtracting
  progressive
• is subtracting
  progressive
• have been subtracting
  perfect progressive
• has been subtracting
  perfect progressive

Past

• subtracted
  simple
• had subtracted
  perfect
• was subtracting
  progressive
• were subtracting
  progressive
• had been subtracting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will subtract
  simple
• will have subtracted
  perfect
• will be subtracting
  progressive
• will have been subtracting
  perfect progressive

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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

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

subtract subtracts subtracted subtracting

Vinegar is firmly in the category of ingredients that are easier to add than subtract.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

If we subtract the dividend yield from the forward FCF yield, we can compare companies’ expected FCF “headroom.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

Adnoc will then add or subtract a differential—essentially a premium or a discount—announced ahead of the delivery month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

On the whiteboard are the words: subtract, difference, count back, regroup.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

She was about to subtract Henry from the bathroom mirror where he had stood shaving that morning when she saw him walking toward her.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez

“So every time the interest rates go up, it subtracts the amount of market-rate capital you’re able to attract for the deal, and it creates gaps that you have to go fill somewhere else.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 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

Each flight subtracts from the possibility of a bright future for children who now munch on s’mores with stars in their eyes.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 10, 2023

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

Bauermeister filed a brief a week ago arguing that the full amount of the settlement paid by Campbell Hall should be subtracted from any award the jury decides Scott must pay to Dylan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 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

She added and subtracted endlessly, determining what she would need and not need, cooking rice and beans each week, and heating up small portions in the microwave for lunch and dinner.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Gross profit is revenue without subtracting the cost of production expenses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

Then it's the net goal score - taking the goals in favour, and subtracting the goals against.

From BBC ● May 26, 2026

Net exports, a measure of what the country exports minus what it imports, were a drag on growth in the first quarter, subtracting 1.3 percentage point as imports outpaced export.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

For most people, it comes down to either taking an extended break, like a sabbatical; somehow subtracting duties from their current role; or transitioning to a less stressful position.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 4, 2026

Over and over I tried to subtract the numbers, but I didn’t want to do it on paper because I didn’t want Mom and Dad to know I was subtracting, so it was hard.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

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Related Words

• deduct
• withhold

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