as in deducting
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 subtracting
What did help ease respondent's minds, based on the survey results, was having a higher net worth, found by subtracting a household's liabilities from its assets.
—
Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 30 May 2026
This measures the degree by which tuition, donations and investment revenue cover a college’s educational expenses by subtracting its core expenses from its core revenues and dividing the difference by its core revenues.
—Matt Schifrin, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
That metric compares grads' total earnings over a period of time with those of workers without bachelor's degrees, while also subtracting educational expenses such as tuition, room and board and income lost while attending college.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 15 May 2026
Decarbonization is a six-syllable mouthful about subtracting something invisible from our lives.
—John Reid, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised data, adding an additional 34,000 jobs to January, showing a growth of 160,000, but subtracting 41,000 from February, showing a loss of 133,000.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 3 Apr. 2026
The Phillies will add three to their 40-man roster — Crawford, Moore and Mayza — while subtracting McCambley and Stubbs.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2026
Willis represents a first move of building, not subtracting.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2026
This chicken is a great recipe to customize to your preferences, adding and subtracting fresh veggies to suit your taste.
—Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 5 Mar. 2026
Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 30 May 2026
This measures the degree by which tuition, donations and investment revenue cover a college’s educational expenses by subtracting its core expenses from its core revenues and dividing the difference by its core revenues.
—Matt Schifrin, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
That metric compares grads' total earnings over a period of time with those of workers without bachelor's degrees, while also subtracting educational expenses such as tuition, room and board and income lost while attending college.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 15 May 2026
Decarbonization is a six-syllable mouthful about subtracting something invisible from our lives.
—John Reid, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised data, adding an additional 34,000 jobs to January, showing a growth of 160,000, but subtracting 41,000 from February, showing a loss of 133,000.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 3 Apr. 2026
The Phillies will add three to their 40-man roster — Crawford, Moore and Mayza — while subtracting McCambley and Stubbs.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2026
Willis represents a first move of building, not subtracting.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2026
This chicken is a great recipe to customize to your preferences, adding and subtracting fresh veggies to suit your taste.
—Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 5 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subtracting
deducting
Verb
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Kean is counting on voters rewarding him for tax cuts that Trump signed into law last year, including easing the restrictions on deducting state and local taxes, or SALT, a big issue for upper middle-class homeowners in high-tax blue states like New Jersey.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
26 May 2026
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Stop adding to the system and start deducting from it.—
Aaron Levine,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subtracting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subtracting. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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