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Subtraction (-)

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The subtraction (-) operator subtracts the two operands, producing their difference.

{{InteractiveExample("JavaScript Demo: Subtraction (-) operator")}}

```js interactive-example console.log(5 - 3); // Expected output: 2

console.log(3.5 - 5); // Expected output: -1.5

console.log(5 - "hello"); // Expected output: NaN

console.log(5 - true); // Expected output: 4

## Syntax

```js-nolint
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 {{jsxref("TypeError")}} is thrown if one operand becomes a BigInt but the other becomes a number.

Examples#

Subtraction using numbers#

5 - 3; // 2
3 - 5; // -2

Other non-BigInt values are coerced to numbers:

"foo" - 3; // NaN; "foo" is converted to the number NaN
5 - "3"; // 2; "3" is converted to the number 3

Subtraction using BigInts#

2n - 1n; // 1n

You cannot mix BigInt and number operands in subtraction.

```js example-bad 2n - 1; // TypeError: Cannot mix BigInt and other types, use explicit conversions 2 - 1n; // TypeError: Cannot mix BigInt and other types, use explicit conversions

To do subtraction with a BigInt and a non-BigInt, convert either operand:

```js
2n - BigInt(1); // 1n
Number(2n) - 1; // 1

Specifications#

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility#

{{Compat}}

See also#