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

Taxpayers need to be extra careful and adjust their state tax filings to add back income that may have been deducted at the federal level. —Medora Lee, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026

They will automatically be deducted at checkout. —Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026

As things stand with a dozen matches still to play, Wednesday are on course to finish the season with a minus points total, seven of the 18 points deducted for breaches of financial rules last autumn yet to be reclaimed by a team who have scored just twice since Boxing Day. —Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026

Workers who make over $150,000 annually can't deduct tips from their taxable income. —Luke Garrett, NPR, 25 Feb. 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