Subtraction (-)
The subtraction (-) operator subtracts the two operands, producing their difference.
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Syntax
js
x - y
Description
The - operator is overloaded for two types of operands: number and BigInt. It first coerces both operands to numeric values and tests the types of them. It performs BigInt subtraction if both operands become BigInts; otherwise, it performs number subtraction. A TypeError is thrown if one operand becomes a BigInt but the other becomes a number.
Examples
Subtraction with numbers
js
// Number - Number -> subtraction
5 - 3; // 2
// Number - Number -> subtraction
3 - 5; // -2
Subtraction with non-numbers
js
// String - Number -> subtraction
"foo" - 3; // NaN; "foo" is converted to the number NaN
// Number - String -> subtraction
5 - "3"; // 2; "3" is converted to the number 3
Subtraction with BigInts
js
// BigInt - BigInt -> subtraction
2n - 1n; // 1n
You cannot mix BigInt and number operands in subtraction.
js
2n - 1; // TypeError: Cannot mix BigInt and other types, use explicit conversions
2 - 1n; // TypeError: Cannot mix BigInt and other types, use explicit conversions
Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| ECMAScript Language Specification # sec-subtraction-operator-minus |
Browser compatibility
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