subtract

verb

sub·​tract səb-ˈtrakt 

subtracted; subtracting; subtracts

transitive verb

: to take away by or as if by deducting

subtract 5 from 9

subtract funds from the project

intransitive verb

: to perform a subtraction

subtracter noun

Synonyms

• deduct

Examples of subtract in a Sentence

if you subtract 10 from 23, you get 13

you can subtract the time you spent daydreaming from your total homework time

Recent Examples on the Web

Typically, the report is released on the first Friday of the month and includes information about how many jobs were added or subtracted from each industry. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 3 Oct. 2025

The leap from knots to links is a relatively small one, but mathematicians can extend the ideas of knot theory to study mind-bending concepts such as higher-dimensional knots, surfaces with knotted edges and difficult-to-imagine objects obtained by subtracting a knot from three-dimensional space. —Emma R. Hasson, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2025

To isolate the jet, the researchers carefully subtracted starlight, dust and background galaxies, leaving behind the most detailed infrared portrait of M87's outflow ever assembled, according to a paper the team published last week in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. —Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2025

The animators had to observe their surroundings, observe people move, and then subtract and abstract the key movements that onscreen deliver some kind of purpose or nuance. —Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin subtractus, past participle of subtrahere to draw from beneath, withdraw, from sub- + trahere to draw

First Known Use

1557, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for subtract

• abstract
• attacked
• attract
• contact
• contract
• detract
• distract
• enact
• exact
• extract
• hijacked
• impact

Kids Definition

subtract

verb

sub·​tract səb-ˈtrakt 

1

: to take away (as one part or number) from another : deduct

subtract 5 from 9

2

: to perform a subtraction