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

To estimate your optimal heart rate zone for exercise, start by subtracting your age from 220 to get your maximum heart rate. —Cyra-Lea Drummond, Verywell Health, 24 Oct. 2025

Add pasta to the pot and cook until just shy of al dente (check package directions and subtract a minute or so). —The New York Times News Service Syndicate, Denver Post, 21 Oct. 2025

Apple isn’t the first to subtract the plus sign from its streaming platform. —Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025

But in an Akan language, the notion that an object could exist as a bare substrate, stripped of properties—say, the idea of a stone, with its weight, texture, and color subtracted—is basically unintelligible; the metaphysical split between a thing and its properties isn’t naturally expressible. —Lula Konner, The New York Review of Books, 4 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