add

[ ad ]

/ æd /

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verb (used with object)

to unite or join so as to increase the number, quantity, size, or importance: to add two cups of sugar; to add a postscript to her letter; to add insult to injury.

to find the sum of (often followed by up): Add this column of figures. Add up the grocery bills.

to say or write further.

to include (usually followed by in): Don't forget to add in the tip.

verb (used without object)

to perform the arithmetic operation of addition: children learning to add and subtract.

to be or serve as an addition (usually followed by to): His illness added to the family's troubles.

noun

Journalism. copy added to a completed story.

Verb Phrases

add up to, to signify; indicate: The evidence adds up to a case of murder.

OTHER WORDS FOR add

1 affix, append, attach, adjoin.

2 total, sum.

See synonyms for add on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

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Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

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Idioms about add

add up,

to make the desired, expected, or correct total: These figures don't add up right.
to seem reasonable or consistent; be in harmony or accord: Some aspects of the story didn't add up.

Origin of add

1325–75; Middle English adden<Latin addere, equivalent to ad-ad- + -dere to put (combining form; see do¹)

OTHER WORDS FROM add

add·a·ble, add·i·ble, adjectiveadd·ed·ly, adverbmis·add, verbre·add, verb (used with object)

un·add·a·ble, adjectiveun·add·ed, adjectiveun·add·i·ble, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH add

1. ad, add , odd2. addable , edible3. adds , ads, adz

Words nearby add

A.D.B., ADC, ad captandum vulgus, Adcock antenna, A/D converter, add, ad damnum, Addams, Addams, Jane, addax, added entry

Other definitions for add (2 of 2)

ADD

[ ey-dee-dee ]

/ ˈeɪˈdiˈdi /

abbreviation, noun

attention deficit disorder: the inattentive subtype of ADHD, usually marked by distractibility and difficulties with executive function.

Origin of ADD

First recorded in 1975–80

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use add in a sentence

Then add in all bored people, as well as people whose job it is to report on celebrities.
Sia and Shia LaBeouf’s Pedophilia Nontroversy Over ‘Elastic Heart’|Marlow Stern|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Seeing what they were doing, I was inspired to add my vision to their technique.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Think of it as Game of Thrones—if you subtract the sex and violence and add drunken revelry and singing.
‘Galavant’: A Drunken, Horny Musical Fairy Tale|Melissa Leon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Her new comments will only add to ongoing speculation that the Yorks plan, one day, to remarry.
Fergie Dives Into Prince Andrew’s Sex Scandal|Tom Sykes|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The economy has begun to add jobs, but the quality of those jobs is an increasing concern.
Christie Blames Parents for Bad Economy|Monica Potts|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Add to this, if you please, the great difficulty of obtaining from them even the words that they have.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
To add point to this success, he knew that the victor of Montebello was straining every nerve to gain this very prize.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
It is painful to add, that the latter years of his life were passed in prison, where he was confined for debt.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Must I add, that your good money paid this second loan—and yet a third—a fourth—a fifth?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
The Federal Reserve Board reserves the right to add to, alter, or amend these regulations.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips

British Dictionary definitions for add (1 of 2)

add

/ (æd) /

verb

to combine (two or more numbers or quantities) by addition

(tr foll by to) to increase (a number or quantity) by another number or quantity using addition

(tr often foll by to) to join (something) to something else in order to increase the size, quantity, effect, or scope; unite (with)to add insult to injury

(intr foll by to) to have an extra and increased effect (on)her illness added to his worries

(tr) to say or write further

(tr foll by in) to include

noun

informal an instance of adding someone to one's list of contacts on a social networking site, esp MySpaceThanks for the add!

Word Origin for add

C14: from Latin addere, literally: to put to, from ad- to + -dere to put

British Dictionary definitions for add (2 of 2)

ADD

abbreviation for

attention deficit disorder

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for add

ADD

Abbreviation of attention deficit disorder