subset

Plural: subsets

Noun

• A mathematical set whose elements are all contained within another larger set.
• a set whose members are members of another set; a set contained within another set
• A set A such that every element of A is also an element of S.
• A group of things or people, all of which are in a specified larger group.

Verb

• To take a subset of.
• To extract only the portions of (a font) that are needed to display a particular document.

Examples

• The letters on his rack formed a SUBSET of the alphabet, but sadly lacked any vowels.
• 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.
• The set of integers is a subset of the set of real numbers.
• We asked a subset of the population of the town for their opinion.

Synonyms

subclass

Antonyms

superclass, superset