How to spell subtract

Subtract is spelled S-U-B-T-R-A-C-T.

hear itsub·tract/səb'trækt/verbHidden vowels

What it means: To take away a number from another.

In a sentence: If you have ten apples and subtract two, how many apples are left?

Same family: subtraction, subtracting, subtracted, attract, contract. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: Subtract comes from Latin 'subtrahere', meaning 'to draw from below' or 'take away'. It shares the root 'tract' with words like 'attract' and 'contract', all connected to the idea of pulling or drawing something.

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Words like this

tractor · extract · retract · distract · subscription

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