English

Noun

subset ‎(plural subsets)

1. (set theory) With respect to another set, a set such that each of its elements is also an element of the other set.

   The set of integers is a subset of the set of reals.

   The set {a, b} is a both a subset and a proper subset of {a, b, c} while the set {a, b, c} is a subset of {a, b, c} but not a proper subset of {a, b, c}.

2. A group of things or people, all of which are in a specified larger group.

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

Synonyms

• (set theory) ⊂, ⊆

Antonyms

• superset

Derived terms

• proper subset

Translations

Verb

subset ‎(third-person singular simple present subsets, present participle subsetting, simple past and past participle subsetted)

1. (transitive) To take a subset of.
2. (transitive, computing, typography) To extract only the portions of (a font) that are needed to display a particular document.