subtraction

[ suhb-trak-shuhn ]

noun

1. an act or instance of subtracting.
2. Mathematics. the operation or process of finding the difference between two numbers or quantities, denoted by a minus sign (−).

subtraction

/ səbˈtrækʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of subtracting
2. a mathematical operation in which the difference between two numbers or quantities is calculated. Usually indicated by the symbol (–)

subtraction

/ səb-trăk′shən /

1. The operation of finding the difference between two numbers or quantities.

Other Words From

• nonsub·traction noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of subtraction¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin subtractiōn- (stem of subtractiō ) a withdrawing, equivalent to subtract ( us ) ( subtract ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

The team plied their subject AI models with questions drawn from a popular collection of more than 8,000 grade school arithmetic problems testing schoolchildren’s understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

From Los Angeles Times

Sometimes it’s addition by subtraction, and Josh Allen and the Bills are doing fine without Stefon Diggs.

From Los Angeles Times

The former is addition by subtraction; the latter, addition by constancy.

From Seattle Times

That’s where another of the firm’s tenets — “addition by subtraction” — comes into play.

From Seattle Times

A demolition saw with a diamond-bladed circular wheel allows the designers to saw-cut “very clear, deliberate and geometric patterns in the existing paving,” Hesselein said, performing “surgical subtraction” to create beds with clean edges and “doing it in a very precise way that elevates that remaining concrete.”

From Seattle Times