What is subtraction?

Subtraction means taking away, or finding how far apart two numbers are. You can subtract by counting back, counting up from the smaller number, or using columns and regrouping when a digit is too small to take from. It is the inverse of addition.

Examples

• 9 − 4 = 5 (take four from nine).
• 20 − 7 = 13.
• The difference between 15 and 6 is 9.

Quick facts

• Subtraction is the inverse of addition: 9 − 4 = 5 because 5 + 4 = 9.
• Order matters: 9 − 4 is not the same as 4 − 9.