Meaning

(set theory, of a set S) A set A such that every element of A is also an element of S..

Definitions by Sense

1. (set theory, of a set S) A set A such that every element of A is also an element of S.
2. A group of things or people, all of which are in a specified larger group.
3. (transitive) To take a subset of.
4. (transitive, computing, typography) To extract only the portions of (a font) that are needed to display a particular document.

Example Sentences

The set of integers is a subset of the set of real numbers.

The set #92;lbracea,b#92;rbrace is a both a subset and a proper subset of #92;lbracea,b,c#92;rbrace while the set #92;lbracea,b,c#92;rbrace is a subset of #92;lbracea,b,c#92;rbrace but not a proper subset of #92;lbracea,b,c#92;rbrace.

1963, David B. MacNeil, Modern Mathematics for the Practical Man, David Van Nostrand, Republished as 2013, David B. MacNeil, Fundamentals of Modern Mathematics: A Practical Review, Dover, page 3, In the foregoing example, the set D of the first four letters of the alphabet, was a subset of the set A of all the letters of the alphabet, because A includes all the members of D.

Let A be a subset of the topological space X and take x#92;inX.

We say that a set S has a finite partition into subsets S#95;1,#92;dots,S#95;n, if S#61;S#95;i#92;cup#92;dots#92;cupS#95;n, where the subsets are pairwise disjoint, that is, S#95;i#92;capS#95;j#61;#92;empty, if i#92;nej. (We do not require that the subsets be nonempty.)

We asked a subset of the population of the town for their opinion.

Word Forms

• subsets
• subsetting
• subsetted

Synonyms for subset

Antonyms for subset

Related Words

When Should You Use Subset?

Use subset when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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