deduct

verb

de·​duct di-ˈdəkt 

dē-

deducted; deducting; deducts

transitive verb

1

: to take away (an amount) from a total : subtract

2

: deduce, infer

Synonyms of deduct

• subtract

Examples of deduct in a Sentence

You can deduct up to $500 for money given to charity.

after deducting taxes, what's left is your net pay for the week

Recent Examples on the Web

For big companies, such as tech companies spending hundreds of billions on infrastructure, the ability to deduct research & development spending has meant lower taxable profits. — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026

Copeland’s opinion addressed whether Sami could subtract the cost of goods from his business income and deduct alleged business expenses for a variety of items, including TV and video streaming, marketing events and charitable donations. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Sep. 2026

That’s after excluding wealth from the top 1% of households, subtracting debts and other liabilities, and deducting retirement spending, charitable donations, taxes, and fees. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026

Selberg will retain the same health insurance coverage for a year and Collierville will deduct from his severance payments. — Corey Davis, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 27 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin deductus, past participle of deducere

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for deduct

• abduct
• conduct
• construct
• destruct
• induct
• instruct
• obstruct
• aqueduct
• deconstruct
• reconstruct
• bucked
• chucked

Kids Definition

deduct

verb

de·​duct di-ˈdəkt 

: to take away (an amount) from a total : subtract

deductible

-ˈdək-tə-bəl

adjective

Legal Definition

deduct

transitive verb

de·​duct

: to take away (an amount) from a total

specifically : to take as a deduction

must be capitalized…rather than immediately deducted

—D. Q. Posin

compare amortize