Search Result for "subtraction": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. an arithmetic operation in which the difference between two numbers is calculated;
- Example: "the subtraction of three from four leaves one"
- Example: "four minus three equals one"
[syn: subtraction, minus]

2. the act of subtracting (removing a part from the whole);
- Example: "he complained about the subtraction of money from their paychecks"
[syn: subtraction, deduction]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Compound \Com"pound\, a. [OE. compouned, p. p. of compounen. See Compound, v. t.] Composed of two or more elements, ingredients, parts; produced by the union of several ingredients, parts, or things; composite; as, a compound word. [1913 Webster] Compound substances are made up of two or more simple substances. --I. Watts. [1913 Webster] Compound addition, subtraction, multiplication, division (Arith.), the addition, subtraction, etc., of compound numbers. Compound crystal (Crystallog.), a twin crystal, or one seeming to be made up of two or more crystals combined according to regular laws of composition. Compound engine (Mech.), a form of steam engine in which the steam that has been used in a high-pressure cylinder is made to do further service in a larger low-pressure cylinder, sometimes in several larger cylinders, successively. Compound ether. (Chem.) See under Ether. Compound flower (Bot.), a flower head resembling a single flower, but really composed of several florets inclosed in a common calyxlike involucre, as the sunflower or dandelion. Compound fraction. (Math.) See Fraction. Compound fracture. See Fracture. Compound householder, a householder who compounds or arranges with his landlord that his rates shall be included in his rents. [Eng.] Compound interest. See Interest. Compound larceny. (Law) See Larceny. Compound leaf (Bot.), a leaf having two or more separate blades or leaflets on a common leafstalk. Compound microscope. See Microscope. Compound motion. See Motion. Compound number (Math.), one constructed according to a varying scale of denomination; as, 3 cwt., 1 qr., 5 lb.; -- called also denominate number. Compound pier (Arch.), a clustered column. Compound quantity (Alg.), a quantity composed of two or more simple quantities or terms, connected by the sign + (plus) or - (minus). Thus, a + b - c, and bb - b, are compound quantities. Compound radical. (Chem.) See Radical. Compound ratio (Math.), the product of two or more ratios; thus ab:cd is a ratio compounded of the simple ratios a:c and b:d. Compound rest (Mech.), the tool carriage of an engine lathe. Compound screw (Mech.), a screw having on the same axis two or more screws with different pitch (a differential screw), or running in different directions (a right and left screw). Compound time (Mus.), that in which two or more simple measures are combined in one; as, 6-8 time is the joining of two measures of 3-8 time. Compound word, a word composed of two or more words; specifically, two or more words joined together by a hyphen. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Subtraction \Sub*trac"tion\, n. [L. subtractio a drawing back. See Subtract, and cf. Substraction.] 1. The act or operation of subtracting or taking away a part. [1913 Webster] 2. (Math.) The taking of a lesser number or quantity from a greater of the same kind or denomination; an operation for finding the difference between two numbers or quantities. [1913 Webster] 3. (Law) The withdrawing or withholding from a person of some right to which he is entitled by law. [1913 Webster] Note: Thus the subtraction of conjugal rights is when either the husband or wife withdraws from the other and lives separate without sufficient reason. The subtraction of a legacy is the withholding or detailing of it from the legatee by the executor. In like manner, the withholding of any service, rent, duty, or custom, is a subtraction, for which the law gives a remedy. --Blackstone. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

subtraction n 1: an arithmetic operation in which the difference between two numbers is calculated; "the subtraction of three from four leaves one"; "four minus three equals one" [syn: subtraction, minus] 2: the act of subtracting (removing a part from the whole); "he complained about the subtraction of money from their paychecks" [syn: subtraction, deduction] [ant: addition]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

88 Moby Thesaurus words for "subtraction": abatement, abridgment, absence, abstraction, addition, alienation, alleviation, approximation, attenuation, awayness, blank, contraction, dampening, damping, decrease, decrement, decrescence, deduction, deflation, depreciation, depression, deprivation, detachment, differentiation, diminishment, diminution, disarticulation, disassociation, disconnectedness, disconnection, discontinuity, discount, disengagement, disjointing, disjunction, dislocation, disunion, division, divorce, divorcement, dying, dying off, equation, evolution, extenuation, extrapolation, fade-out, incoherence, integration, interpolation, inversion, involution, isolation, lack, languishment, lessening, letup, lowering, luxation, miniaturization, mitigation, multiplication, neverness, nonexistence, nonoccurrence, nonpresence, notation, nowhereness, parting, partition, practice, proportion, rebate, reduction, relaxation, removal, sagging, scaling down, segmentation, separation, separatism, simplicity, subdivision, transformation, want, weakening, withdrawal, zoning
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

SUBTRACTION. The act of withholding or detaining anything unlawfully.