subtraction
/səbˈtɹækʃən/noun
subtraction is spelled S-U-B-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, subtraction means “The process of subtracting a number from another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of subtraction is subtractions.
How many letters and syllables are in subtraction?
| Letters | 11: S-U-B-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,393rd 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 subtraction?
Subtraction appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd 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 subtraction?
- /səbˈtɹækʃən/
Subtraction has 3 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-subtraction.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of subtraction
- subtractions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does subtraction mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The process of subtracting a number from another.
- 2
A calculation involving subtracting.
The teacher has set us ten subtractions to do by tomorrow.
- 3
The removal of something.
The subtraction of the wealth from the economy will result in recession.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Subtraction in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense process:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | soustraction |
| German | Subtraktion, Abziehen, Abziehung, Subtrahierung, Subtrahieren, Abzug |
| Portuguese | subtração |
| Spanish | resta, sustracción, substracción |
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 subtraction come from?
Borrowed from Late Latin subtractio, subtractionis. Can be decomposed to subtract + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).