Basic subtraction is the process of finding the difference between two numbers. It is one of the four basic operations in mathematics, alongside addition, multiplication, and division.

Subtraction can be thought of as taking away from a given number. For example, if we have 7 objects and we take away 3 objects, then we are left with 4 objects. In symbols, we would write this as:

7 – 3 = 4

The process of subtraction is the inverse of addition. So if we know that 7 + 3 = 10, then we also know that 10 – 7 = 3 and that 3 – 10 = -7.