What does "subset" mean?

1. (a smaller group) a group of things or people that are all part of a bigger group. 2. (mathematical set) a set where every member is also a member of another set. 3. (to extract a part) to choose or take a smaller part from a larger group of data.

How do you use "subset"?

The verb is transitive and requires a direct object, typically a dataset or file.

subset

n. · v.

US //ˈsəbˌsɛt// UK //sˈʌbsɛt// sub·set

1 a smaller group (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

a group of things or people that are all part of a bigger group.

a group of items or individuals that form a specific part of a larger collection or population.

Example

The survey focused on a small subset of the population living in rural areas.

Example

While the policy affects all employees, a specific subset of part-time staff will receive additional benefits under the new contract.
- whole
- superset
2 mathematical set (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Technical Math

a set where every member is also a member of another set.

a set A such that every element of A is also an element of a set B.

Example

In math, the set of even numbers is a subset of all whole numbers.

Example

The proof requires us to demonstrate that set X is a proper subset of set Y, meaning it contains some but not all of Y's elements.
- sub collection
- superset

Show 1 more senseShow fewer

3 to extract a part (v.)
C1 Advanced Technical Computing

to choose or take a smaller part from a larger group of data.

to extract or isolate a specific portion of a larger dataset or digital resource.

Example

We need to subset the data to look only at customers who joined this year.

Example

The software allows users to subset the original font file, including only the characters necessary for the specific document to reduce file size.

Usage

The verb is transitive and requires a direct object, typically a dataset or file.
- merge
- combine

Origin

From sub- + set.