summary
Americannoun
plural
summariesadjective
-
brief and comprehensive; concise.
-
direct and prompt; unceremoniously fast.
to treat someone with summary dispatch.
-
(of legal proceedings, jurisdiction, etc.) conducted without, or exempt from, the various steps and delays of a formal trial.
noun
adjective
-
performed arbitrarily and quickly, without formality
a summary execution
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(of legal proceedings) short and free from the complexities and delays of a full trial
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the right a court has to adjudicate immediately upon some matter arising during its proceedings
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giving the gist or essence
Related Words
Summary, brief, digest, synopsis are terms for a short version of a longer work. A summary is a brief statement or restatement of main points, especially as a conclusion to a work: a summary of a chapter. A brief is a detailed outline, by heads and subheads, of a discourse (usually legal) to be completed: a brief for an argument. A digest is an abridgment of an article, book, etc., or an organized arrangement of material under heads and titles: a digest of a popular novel; a digest of Roman law. A synopsis is usually a compressed statement of the plot of a novel, play, etc.: a synopsis of Hamlet.
Other Word Forms
- summarily adverb
- summariness noun
Etymology
Origin of summary
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin summārium, equivalent to summ(a) “sum” + -ārium noun suffix; sum, -ary
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Will finalise F summary for you next week. Can't now cause she went to nepal paying for the first class flight with her rowland bank loan," writes a business contact to Epstein in September 2009.
From BBC
The new report cards were rolled out in schools in England in November 2025 and include several grades for different parts of school life, with narrative summaries then giving more details about each area.
From BBC
Let’s set the stage for a stock screen by looking at a summary of weighted price changes for the S&P 500’s sectors.
From MarketWatch
An easy question but one that would require some knowledge of the book beyond the general summary.
From Literature
AI overviews, an AI summary of search results at the top of traditional Google search, have proven to be very effective in maintaining the near 90% market share Google has in search.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
