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# subtract

«subtract» in Mova's school dictionary: **to take one number away from another to find what is left…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (subtract, subtracts, subtracted, subtracting); noun subtraction

### meaning for a pupil

1) To subtract is to take one number away from another to find what is left or the difference. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/subtract/#m1)

2) To subtract something can also mean to take it away from a group or an amount. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/subtract/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

the operation − (minus): we subtract when things go away (give, lose, eat, break, left) and to find a difference (how many more, how much older); in everyday life we subtract to find change from money or time still to wait; phrases: «subtract 5 from 12», «take away»

### examples

- Student: I subtract: 6 (because of «give», «left»). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/subtract/#x1)
- Subtract 5 from 12. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/subtract/#x2)
- We subtract to find how many more Tom has than Ben. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/subtract/#x3)
- If you subtract 3 from 10, you get 7. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/subtract/#x4)
- Mum subtracted the cost of the milk from 20 dollars to find her change. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/subtract/#x5)
- To check a subtraction, add the answer to the smaller number. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/subtract/#x6)
- The coach subtracted one point for a foul. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/subtract/#x7)
- Subtraction is the opposite of addition. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/subtract/#x8)

### note

Names the operation itself. Subtract when things go away or to find a difference; trap: «subtract 5 from 12» is 12 − 5, not 5 − 12. The answer of a subtraction is called the difference. Adding undoes subtracting.

### In the corpora

- [Between two AD years, subtract.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/85-olympiad-timelines-centuries-and-which-came-first/8/)
- [Before you add or subtract, say in words what each number counts.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/lessons/79-extra-number/5/)
- [Then decide whether to add or subtract.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/lessons/80-mixed-review/2/)
- [Each capture takes one piece off the board, so subtract all the captures of both players from 32.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/lessons/238-board-games/1/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «subtract» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/subtract/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.