as in deduction
the act or an instance of taking away from a total
the restaurant may not have raised the price, but there's definitely been a subtraction in the number of fries in a side order
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Recent Examples of subtraction
But if Brown is that unhappy with his status on the team, perhaps moving him would be addition by subtraction, as Florio suggested.
—
Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
Vesia’s subtraction from the bullpen adds further uncertainty to the Dodgers’ most vulnerable area.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
Everything has fallen into place this offseason as the Nuggets prepare to hold their media day on Monday, starting with the subtractions.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2025
Each body part, say a hand or an elbow or a knee, that was used to guide or help balance resulted in a subtraction of one point from the total.
—Linda Carroll, NBC news, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for subtraction
Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
Vesia’s subtraction from the bullpen adds further uncertainty to the Dodgers’ most vulnerable area.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
Everything has fallen into place this offseason as the Nuggets prepare to hold their media day on Monday, starting with the subtractions.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2025
Each body part, say a hand or an elbow or a knee, that was used to guide or help balance resulted in a subtraction of one point from the total.
—Linda Carroll, NBC news, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for subtraction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subtraction
Noun
-
The abolition of the wealth tax (förmögenhetsskatten) 20 years ago is part of this story – along with, in the same year, the introduction of generous tax deductions for housework and home improvement projects.—
Miranda Sheild Johansson,
Fortune,
22 Jan. 2026
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These changes, which impact the standard deductions available for married couples filing jointly, single filers and qualifying taxpayers age 65 and older, can play a role in how the IRS calculates your ability to pay back taxes.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The company strips out nonessential systems and designs each component around mass reduction.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Jan. 2026
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On Wednesday, city leaders said the strategy has driven the recent crime reduction.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subtraction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subtraction. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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