as in to deduct
to take away (an amount or number) from a total
if you subtract 10 from 23, you get 13 you can subtract the time you spent daydreaming from your total homework time
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Recent Examples of subtract
This created a template by which Alpha Centauri B’s light could then be subtracted out from the precious images of Alpha Centauri A.
—
Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 7 Aug. 2025
Imports are subtracted from U.S. growth. ◾ Consumers are happier: Both consumer confidence and sentiment continued to climb in July, recovering from their April lows.
—Jim Sergent, USA Today, 2 Aug. 2025
That flurry of deals subtracted Javier Báez, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, while adding to the organization’s pool of prospects.
—Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 31 July 2025
Still, the key to first-person address, as that great Renaissance master Michel de Montaigne understood, is not to subtract complication but to supply it, registering doubt, hesitation, and irony even while developing an argument.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for subtract
Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 7 Aug. 2025
Imports are subtracted from U.S. growth. ◾ Consumers are happier: Both consumer confidence and sentiment continued to climb in July, recovering from their April lows.
—Jim Sergent, USA Today, 2 Aug. 2025
That flurry of deals subtracted Javier Báez, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, while adding to the organization’s pool of prospects.
—Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 31 July 2025
Still, the key to first-person address, as that great Renaissance master Michel de Montaigne understood, is not to subtract complication but to supply it, registering doubt, hesitation, and irony even while developing an argument.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for subtract
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subtract
deduct
Verb
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Cost is $66,000 per year, after deducting her $10,000 scholarship.—
Mary Clements Evans,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
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But so long as the E-ZPass account had sufficient funds, a charge involving a plate associated with their account would be deducted.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subtract.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subtract. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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