as in deduction
the act or an instance of taking away from a total
the restaurant may not have raised the price, but there's definitely been a subtraction in the number of fries in a side order
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Recent Examples of subtraction
Multiply the rain’s lances, multiply their ruin, the grace born from subtraction as the hold’s iron door
rolled over their eyes like pots left out in the rain,
and the bolt rammed home its echo, the way that thunder-
claps perpetuate their reverberation.
—
Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Vancouver is hoping this is in part addition by subtraction.
—Corey Pronman, The Athletic, 1 Feb. 2025
But there is a lot more to this argument than simple addition and subtraction.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 9 Apr. 2025
It’s been all about roster subtraction, and Briere methodically has been dealing current pieces for future assets since he was put in place.
—Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subtraction
Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Vancouver is hoping this is in part addition by subtraction.
—Corey Pronman, The Athletic, 1 Feb. 2025
But there is a lot more to this argument than simple addition and subtraction.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 9 Apr. 2025
It’s been all about roster subtraction, and Briere methodically has been dealing current pieces for future assets since he was put in place.
—Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subtraction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subtraction
Noun
-
The current $10,000 cap on SALT deductions was introduced in the original 2017 Trump tax cut and an increase is being negotiated as part of the tricky talks for a sprawling budget bill that will need the votes of nearly every single Republican House lawmaker to pass.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
9 May 2025
-
Workers couldn’t deduct more than $25,000 in tips, and those making more than $160,000 would lose the deduction entirely.—
Howard Gleckman,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
Beijing will meet the U.S. reductions, dropping tariffs on U.S. goods to 10%.—
JJ Kinahan,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
-
The bill earmarks a reduction of federal matching funds for Medicaid expansion populations, decreasing the current 90 percent federal contribution to the standard range of 50 to 83 percent.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subtraction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subtraction. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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