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
Green Bay moving on from its QB in favor of young Jordan Love may be the greatest example of addition by subtraction since Jennifer Lopez dumped Alex Rodriguez.
Pick: Packers by 7
Titans at Colts (-14½)
Former Minnesota backup Daniel Jones has Indianapolis at an NFL-leading 6-1.
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Kevin Cusick, Twin Cities, 24 Oct. 2025
Everything has fallen into place this offseason as the Nuggets prepare to hold their media day on Monday, starting with the subtractions.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2025
Now, last minute additions (and subtractions), especially with really large yachts like MAR are pretty common at this stage before the show.
—Bill Springer, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
After background subtraction, the water abundances of apatite and melt inclusions were quantified by the slope of the calibration line (Extended Data Fig. 7), which was determined by measuring apatite and glass standards.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for subtraction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subtraction
Noun
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The new senior deduction of up to $6,000 will help offset federal taxes on benefits at tax time.—
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That sum is the amounts received by interactive sports wagering operators from sports wagers as authorized under state law, less the amounts paid as winnings before any deductions for expenses, fees, or taxes.—
Noun
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The company strips out nonessential systems and designs each component around mass reduction.—
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On Wednesday, city leaders said the strategy has driven the recent crime reduction.—
Cite this Entry
“Subtraction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subtraction. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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