add up
Britishverb
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to find the sum (of)
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(intr) to result in a correct total
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informal (intr) to make sense
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to amount to
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Amount to an expected or correct total, as in These figures don't add up , meaning they are not correct. [Mid-1800s]
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Be consistent, make sense, as in I'm not sure that all this testimony will add up . [First half of 1900s]
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Assess, form an opinion of, as in He looked across the track and added up the competition . Also see add up to .
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.
From match tickets to flights and hotels, plus the travel to stadiums and the cost of a drink once inside, the costs of attending can add up fast.
From BBC • Jun. 16, 2026
Problems continue to add up for Lululemon, as the yoga-wear maker on Thursday trimmed its full-year forecast to account for a potential dip in sales this year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
Problems continue to add up for Lululemon, as the yoga-wear maker on Thursday trimmed its full-year forecast to account for a potential dip in sales this year, sinking its shares in after-hours trading.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
For a condition affecting hundreds of millions of people globally, that kind of prevention could add up quickly if applied broadly among people at elevated risk.
From Science Daily • May 19, 2026
If I thought it would add up to anything, I wouldn’t hang out with Ginia after school.
From "Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
