"subtraction" in the noun sense
1. subtraction, minus
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"
2. subtraction, deduction
the act of subtracting (removing a part from the whole
"he complained about the subtraction of money from their paychecks"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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