Meaning & use
subtract
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To take one number or quantity away from another so as to find out what is left.
Grammar: Usually takes an object plus from: subtract 4 from 9; it can also stand alone: children learn to add and subtract.
Patterns
- subtract something from something
- subtract
If you subtract 15 from 40, you get 25.
The shop will subtract the deposit from your final bill.
My little brother is learning to add and subtract.
verbtransitive
To remove an element or amount from something so that it becomes smaller or loses an element.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with from: subtract a factor from the equation.
Patterns
- subtract something from something
Subtract the one-time costs from the budget before comparing the two years.
Taking out the best player seemed to subtract all the energy from the team.
Word forms
| third person singular | subtracts |
|---|---|
| past tense | subtracted |
| past participle | subtracted |
| -ing form | subtracting |
Common combinations
- subtract from
- Subtract the discount from the original price.
- subtract a number
- Subtract a smaller number from a larger one to avoid negatives.
- add and subtract
- The first-graders can already add and subtract within twenty.
- subtract costs
- Subtract your travel costs before calculating the profit.
- subtract the total
- Subtract the total of the expenses from your income.
Synonyms and how they differ
- deduct
- Deduct is common for taking money off a total, such as tax from a salary, while subtract is the general word for numbers.
- take away
- Take away is the everyday spoken version, often used with young children, whereas subtract sounds more like a math lesson.
- minus
- Minus is a preposition or informal verb in speech, but it is not used as a standard verb in careful writing like subtract is.
Opposites
Word family
- subtraction noun
- the process or act of subtracting
- subtrahend noun
- the number that is taken away in a subtraction
- subtractive adjective
- involving or based on subtraction
- subtractor noun
- a device or circuit that performs subtraction
Commonly confused: subtract or abstract?
subtract vs abstract
Abstract is an adjective or verb about ideas that are not concrete or about summarizing; it has nothing to do with taking numbers away.
Practice
To find how much money is left, ______ the rent from your monthly pay.
Choose one answer.
You subtract one amount from another to get what remains. Add and multiply would make the number larger, not show what is left.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “subtract”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.