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
Those three subtractions from the Texas roster happened over the first three days of the portal's 15-day window.
—
Danny Davis, Austin American Statesman, 10 Apr. 2026
Each player or team who makes an addition or subtraction receives an X post, sometimes highlighting multiple follows and unfollows.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
In an introduction to the Archimedes standards, the association contrasts a Common Core second grade standard on addition and subtraction that takes 67 words to explain with Archimedes’ 24-word version.
—Steven Yoder, States Newsroom, 20 Mar. 2026
In a textbook case of addition by subtraction, one of Iger’s biggest sports coups was entirely accidental.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for subtraction
Danny Davis, Austin American Statesman, 10 Apr. 2026
Each player or team who makes an addition or subtraction receives an X post, sometimes highlighting multiple follows and unfollows.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
In an introduction to the Archimedes standards, the association contrasts a Common Core second grade standard on addition and subtraction that takes 67 words to explain with Archimedes’ 24-word version.
—Steven Yoder, States Newsroom, 20 Mar. 2026
In a textbook case of addition by subtraction, one of Iger’s biggest sports coups was entirely accidental.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for subtraction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subtraction
Noun
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That’s a result of language in the GOP law that increased the standard deduction, added a $6,000 rebate for qualifying seniors, boosted the child tax deduction, and set new rules for deducting tips, overtime, and car loan payments.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
30 Apr. 2026
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The pass-through credit restores some of the deduction by sending 100 percent of a New York City business tax back to business owners.—
Amethyst Martinez,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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On Friday, swaps markets reflected around a 40% chance of a reduction by then, rising from about 20% after the Justice Department dropped its investigation into the Fed.—
Michael MacKenzie,
Bloomberg,
26 Apr. 2026
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Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the budget proposal on Capitol Hill last week, telling senators that the visitor experience to parks can be improved even while spending and staff reductions are made.—
Justine McDaniel,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subtraction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subtraction. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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