subtract
/səbˈtɹækt/verb
subtract is spelled S-U-B-T-R-A-C-T: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, subtract means “To remove or reduce; especially to reduce a quantity or number” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in subtract?
| Letters | 8: S-U-B-T-R-A-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is subtract?
Subtract appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th 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 subtract?
- US /səbˈtɹækt/
Subtract 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-subtract.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with subtract?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as subtract from its last stressed vowel (/ækt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of subtract
- subtracts present, singular, he/she/it
- subtracting participle, present
- subtracted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does subtract mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To remove or reduce; especially to reduce a quantity or number.
If you subtract the $100 for gas from the total cost, it was a fairly inexpensive trip.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Subtract in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to remove or reduce:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | soustraire |
| German | subtrahieren, abziehen |
| Portuguese | subtrair |
| Spanish | restar, sustraer, substraer |
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 subtract come from?
Borrowed from Latin subtractus, perfect passive participle of subtrahō (“to draw from beneath; withdraw, remove”); from sub (“under”) + trahō (“to draw, pull, drag”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).