subset
/ˈsʌbˌsɛt/noun, verb
subset is spelled S-U-B-S-E-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, subset means “A set A such that every element of A is also an element of S” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of subset is subsets.
How many letters and syllables are in subset?
| Letters | 6: S-U-B-S-E-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.4 times per million words; the 14,307th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is subset?
Subset appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce subset?
- UK /ˈsʌbˌsɛt/
Subset has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-subset.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of subset
- subsets plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- subsetting participle, present
- subsetted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does subset mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A set A such that every element of A is also an element of S.
The set of integers is a subset of the set of real numbers.
- 2
A group of things or people, all of which are in a specified larger group.
We asked a subset of the population of the town for their opinion.
verb
- 1
To take a subset of.
- 2
To extract only the portions of (a font) that are needed to display a particular document.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Subset in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sous-ensemble |
| German | Untermenge, Teilmenge |
| Portuguese | subconjunto , subgrupo |
| Spanish | subconjunto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does subset come from?
From sub- + set.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).