Language reference
DATE_SUB (subtract an interval from a date, as MySQL writes it)
Syntax
DATE_SUB(<date-or-timestamp>, <interval>)
σ order_date > DATE_SUB(DATE '2026-10-16', INTERVAL 3 MONTH) (Orders)Description
DATE_SUB is MySQL's way to write d - INTERVAL …. It subtracts an interval from a date or a timestamp, and a date stays a date.
Technical Description
DATE_SUB(d: DATE | TIMESTAMP, interval: DURATION) → the type of d. It is DATE_ADD with the interval negated. Months are moved first, and a day the target month lacks becomes its last day: 31 March minus a month is 28 February, or 29 in a leap year. A DATE moved by part of a day is refused. A TIMESTAMP is read at UTC. A NULL argument returns NULL. PURE, DETERMINISTIC.
Examples
The last three months of orders:
σ order_date > DATE_SUB(DATE '2026-10-16', INTERVAL 3 MONTH) (Orders)SELECT order_date > DATE_SUB(DATE '2026-10-16', INTERVAL 3 MONTH) (Orders)Pushdown
Runs in the engine.