subtract

[ suhb-trakt ]

verb (used with object)

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

verb (used without object)

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

   Antonyms: add

subtract

/ 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

Derived Forms

• subˈtracter, noun

Other Words From

• sub·tracter noun
• unsub·tracted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of subtract¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of subtract¹

C16: from Latin subtractus withdrawn, from subtrahere to draw away from beneath, from sub- + trahere to draw

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Lest we forget, Hillary Clinton got 2.8 million more votes than Donald Trump did in 2016, but the distribution of those votes turned out to be an insurmountable problem: If we subtract California, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York from the overall total, Trump won the rest of the country by 5 million votes.

From Salon

Subtract your current salary from that figure.

From Salon

Interactive tables will allow you to explore the actors of Warner Bros. past and present, while special effects stations can add or subtract digital accouterments with the movement of a knob.

From Los Angeles Times

Here, for instance, is the far-right blowhard Mike Cernovich, in tweeting Tuesday on X: “If you own a house, subtract what you paid for it from the Zillow estimate. Be prepared to pay 25% of that in a check to the IRS. That’s your unrealized capital gains taxed owed under the Kamala Harris proposal.”

From Los Angeles Times

How do you add, how do you subtract, how do you balance those types of things?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• deduct
• withhold