Subscript or superscript?
subscript is a noun meaning “A type of lettering form written lower than the things around it”; superscript is a noun meaning “A type of lettering form that appears as a number, figure, or symbol above the…”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) subscript is about as common as superscript.
What is the difference between subscript and superscript?
| subscript | superscript | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb, adjective | noun, adjective, verb |
| Meaning | A type of lettering form written lower than the things around it An index into an array or hash To provide with a subscript | A type of lettering form that appears as a number, figure, or symbol above the normal line of type, located at the right or left of another symbol or text Placed above the normal line of text To provide with a superscript |
| Example | In chemical formulas the number of atoms in a molecule is written as a subscript, so we write H₂O for water which has two atoms of hydrogen… | In x², the 2 written in superscript means “to the power of two” |
| Forms | subscripts | superscripts |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsʌbskɹɪpt/ | not recorded |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words | about once in every 6 million words |
Sources: subscript and superscript in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of subscript and superscript
subscript
- 1
A type of lettering form written lower than the things around it
In chemical formulas the number of atoms in a molecule is written as a subscript, so we write H₂O for water which has two atoms of hydrogen for each one of oxygen
- 2
To provide with a subscript
The elements of these matrices are subscripted with a row–column index, that is, with two integers that give the row and column position in the array
- 3
Written underneath
- 4
An index into an array or hash
- 5
To convert to a subscript form
- 6
To access (an array element) by its index
superscript
- 1
A type of lettering form that appears as a number, figure, or symbol above the normal line of type, located at the right or left of another symbol or text
In x², the 2 written in superscript means “to the power of two”
- 2
Placed above the normal line of text
- 3
To provide with a superscript
The ambient or unsaturated value of a variable is superscripted with a "*"
- 4
To convert to a superscript form
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, subscript or superscript?
subscript appears about once in every 6 million words; superscript about once in every 6 million words.
subscript about once in every 6 million wordssuperscript about once in every 6 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search subscript vs superscript?
“subscript vs superscript” is searched about 590 times a month on Google and 90 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“superscript vs subscript”, “subscript or superscript”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.