add up
Save This Word!
verb (adverb)
to find the sum (of)
(intr) to result in a correct total
(intr) informal to make sense
(intr foll by to) to amount to
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”
Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.
Question 1 of 7
Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?
Words nearby add up
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
Example sentences from the Web for add up
Idioms and Phrases with add up
add up
Amount to an expected or correct total, as in These figures don't add up, meaning they are not correct. [Mid-1800s]
Be consistent, make sense, as in I'm not sure that all this testimony will add up. [First half of 1900s]
Assess, form an opinion of, as in He looked across the track and added up the competition. Also see add up to.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.