add up

British  

verb

1. to find the sum (of)

2. (intr) to result in a correct total

3. informal (intr) to make sense

4. to amount to

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add up Idioms  

1. Amount to an expected or correct total, as in These figures don't add up , meaning they are not correct. [Mid-1800s]

2. Be consistent, make sense, as in I'm not sure that all this testimony will add up . [First half of 1900s]

3. Assess, form an opinion of, as in He looked across the track and added up the competition . Also see add up to .

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Example Sentences

In California, a mandate requiring solar hookups adds up to $10,000 to the upfront cost of new homes, according to California’s own Energy Commission.

From The Wall Street Journal

At the moment, the sentiment around Microsoft stock doesn’t add up.

From Barron's

“As a result, economists warn that inflation has not yet been tamed—even as the labor market continues to waver. That all adds up to a big headache for Fed officials.”

From Barron's

"If they were reducing their salaries to add up to our cocoa prices, that would have been brilliant," he told the BBC.

From BBC

But some aspects of his account didn't add up, such as why he had used a wheelbarrow to get her back into the house and waited 14 hours to call an ambulance.

From BBC

Related Words

• confirm
• convince
• demonstrate
• determine
• explain
• find
• justify
• result
• show
• substantiate
• test
• try
• turn out
• validate
• verify