What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Subset vs Category - What's the difference?

subset | category |

As nouns the difference between subset and category

is that subset is (set theory) with respect to another set, a set such that each of its elements is also an element of the other set while category is a group, often named or numbered, to which items are assigned based on similarity or defined criteria.

subset

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (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}.
  • 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

    category

    English

    (wikipedia category)

    Noun

    (categories)
  • A group, often named or numbered, to which items are assigned based on similarity or defined criteria.
  • *
    • The traditional way of describing the similarities and differences between constituents is to say that they belong to categories'' of various types. Thus, words like ''boy'', ''girl'', ''man'', ''woman'', etc. are traditionally said to belong to the category''' of Nouns, whereas words like ''a'', ''the'', ''this'', and ''that'' are traditionally said to belong to the ' category of Determiners.
    This steep and dangerous climb belongs to the most difficult category .
    I wouldn't put this book in the same category as the author's first novel.
  • (mathematics) A collection of objects, together with a transitively closed collection of composable arrows between them, such that every object has an identity arrow, and such that arrow composition is associative.
    • One well-known category has sets as objects and functions as arrows.
    Just as a monoid consists of an underlying set with a binary operation "on top of it" which is closed, associative and with an identity, a category consists of an underlying digraph with an arrow composition operation "on top of it" which is transitively closed, associative, and with an identity at each object. In fact, a category's composition operation, when restricted to a single one of its objects, turns that object's set of arrows (which would all be loops) into a monoid.

    Synonyms

    * (group to which items are assigned) class, family, genus, group, kingdom, order, phylum, race, tribe, type * See also

    Derived terms

    * category mistake * category theory * conceptual category * perceptual category * subcategory * supercategory

    Related terms

    * categorical * categorise / categorize * categorial

    External links

    * *