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• sum
  sum

  noun

  the aggregate of two or more numbers, magnitudes, quantities, or particulars as determined by or as if by the mathematical process of addition.
• SUM
  SUM

  surface-to-underwater missile.
• sum-
  sum-

  variant of sub- before m: summon.

sum

¹ American  

[suhm] / sʌm /

noun

• sums
  plural

1. the aggregate of two or more numbers, magnitudes, quantities, or particulars as determined by or as if by the mathematical process of addition.

   The sum of 6 and 8 is 14.

2. a particular aggregate or total, especially with reference to money.

   The expenses came to an enormous sum.

3. an indefinite amount or quantity, especially of money.

   to lend small sums.

4. a series of numbers or quantities to be added up.

5. an arithmetical problem to be solved, or such a problem worked out and having the various steps shown.

6. the full amount, or the whole.

7. the substance or gist of a matter, comprehensively or broadly viewed or expressed.

   the sum of his opinions.

8. concise or brief form.

   in sum.

9. Mathematics.

   1. the limit of the sequence of partial sums of a given infinite series.

   2. union.

10. a summary.

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verb (used with object)

• sums,
  present (3rd person singular)
• summed,
  past participle,  past
• summing
  present participle

1. to combine into an aggregate or total (often followed byup ).

2. to ascertain the sum of, as by addition.

3. to bring into or contain in a small compass (often followed byup ).

verb (used without object)

• sums,
  present (3rd person singular)
• summed,
  past participle,  past
• summing
  present participle

1. to amount (usually followed by to orinto ).

   Their expenses summed into the thousands.

verb phrase

1. sum up

   1. to reckon.

      We summed up our assets and liabilities.

   2. to bring into or contain in a brief and comprehensive statement; summarize.

      to sum up the case for the prosecution.

   3. to form a quick estimate of.

      I summed him up in a minute.

SUM ² American  

1. surface-to-underwater missile.

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sum- ³ American  

1. variant of sub- before m: summon.

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sum ¹ British  

/ sʌm /

noun

1. 1. the result of the addition of numbers, quantities, objects, etc

   2. the cardinality of the union of disjoint sets whose cardinalities are the given numbers

2. one or more columns or rows of numbers to be added, subtracted, multiplied, or divided

3. maths the limit of a series of sums of the first n terms of a converging infinite series as n tends to infinity

4. (plural) another name for number work

5. a quantity, esp of money

   he borrows enormous sums

6. the essence or gist of a matter (esp in the phrases in sum, in sum and substance )

7. a less common word for summary

8. archaic the summit or maximum

9. (modifier) complete or final (esp in the phrase sum total )

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verb

1. (often foll by up) to add or form a total of (something)

2. (tr) to calculate the sum of (the terms in a sequence)

sum ² British  

/ sʊm /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of Uzbekistan, divided into 100 tiyin

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sum Scientific  

/ sŭm /

1. The result of adding numbers or quantities. The sum of 6 and 9, for example, is 15, and the sum of 4 x and 5 x is 9 x.

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Synonym Usage

See number.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sumlessness
  noun
• outsum
  verb (used with object)
• sumless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sums
  plural

Participles

• summing
  present
• summed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sum
  simple
• sums
  simple
• have summed
  perfect
• has summed
  perfect
• am summing
  progressive
• are summing
  progressive
• is summing
  progressive
• have been summing
  perfect progressive
• has been summing
  perfect progressive

Past

• summed
  simple
• had summed
  perfect
• was summing
  progressive
• were summing
  progressive
• had been summing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sum
  simple
• will have summed
  perfect
• will be summing
  progressive
• will have been summing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of sum

First recorded in 1250–1300; (noun) Middle English summe, from Latin summa “sum,” noun use of feminine of summus “highest,” superlative of superus ( see superior); (verb) Middle English summen (from Old French summer ), from Medieval Latin summāre, derivative of summa

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Explanation

When you determine the sum, you add up all the numbers. When you sum something up, you focus on all of its important points. The word sum can also refer to a certain amount of money. A new car might cost you a huge sum of money. But if you sum or add up all its benefits, you might be able to justify spending so much. You calculate the total on a restaurant bill when you sum up the prices of everything you ordered. Sum doesn't have to refer strictly to numbers. When you sum something up, you're giving an overview or general statement about it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sum SUM sum- sums summed summing

The French government, “compelled to curtail the costs of its colonial experiments,” now offered the whole of Louisiana in return for a much larger sum than Monroe’s instructions authorized.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Ellie Orton, chief executive of NHS Charities Together, which represents them, says that while this sum may sound high, it represents only around 0.3% of the health budget.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

One song by the country singer seemed to sum up Rick’s attitude: “You Done Me Wrong.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026

The US comments sum up a two-day meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that has been complicated by wars in Iran and Ukraine.

From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026

For a small sum, we had been allowed to watch from afar as hundreds of workers crawled ant-like over the lumber skeletons.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

That decision opened space for SUM to expand its role with Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2022

SUM profits when Mexico’s national team is promoted in the US.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 19, 2018

A healthy slice of the revenue from those events and from sponsorship deals cut by SUM is distributed to the owners of MLS teams.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 2016

The organizers capitalized SUM at the exorbitant amount of $500,000 and named the nation’s first planned industrial city in honor of New Jersey governor William Paterson.

From Time ● Dec. 28, 2015

Dennis O'Kelly always threw with great success; and when he held the box he was seldom known to refuse throwing for ANY SUM that the company chose to set him.

From The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims Volume I (of II) by Andrew Steinmetz

He was embarrassed at having sum- moned a senior representative of the U.S. government all this way.

From MSNBC ● Nov. 7, 2017

The company is worth at least $72 a share, based on a sum- of-the-parts analysis by Bernstein’s Dibadj.

From BusinessWeek ● Sep. 21, 2011

By sum- mer he’d learned the basics of the uranium bomb.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin

He did not have the careless, almost British look of most of the Devon Masters, because he was a substitute for the sum- mer.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

“Is it true that on sundry occasions during the sum- mer you have entered her house and visited with her?”

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

By the 1990s and beyond, they were raising substantial sums for equipment, buildings, research, and the likes of play areas in children's wards and well-equipped staff rooms.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

You know intellectually that you can afford what you want, but you’re still afraid to shell out big sums of money.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

Anthropic's listing, expected as early as next week, comes amid growing nervousness among investors about the huge sums being poured into AI.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

It would allocate “global budgets” to institutional medical providers—limiting them to lump sums to cover operating expenses—instead of allowing them to get more revenue for each additional patient they treat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

I think that opening sentence sums up my sentiments exactly.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

She summed up her goal in a post on X: “For the reunification of every family, for the freedom of every political prisoner, for the freedom of Venezuela.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

Those plays summed up much of the game for the Stallions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

Kyler Daugherty, a 43-year-old health care worker, summed up the sentiment as he filled up his gas tank in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

When Warsh came into office in May, he installed a sea change in Fed communication that can best be summed up as “less is more.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026

Laury summed it up best: “Lightning’s a good listener, and she believes in us.”

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

The 10-year yield hits its highest level in more than 19 years, summing up investors’ worries about a flurry of Fed interest-rate hikes.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

Major said, summing up the sentiment he heard from clients.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Bogle, summing up the Kingsport region, inadvertently speaks to their fears.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Mike Murphy continues his wonderful series of What’s Worth Streaming, reviewing the offerings from eight streaming services and summing up which ones are worth paying for and which ones you should skip for the month.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

“The medical students will hit pay dirt with Old Man Lichtenberger,” I said, summing up.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

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