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.
That could add up to tens of thousands of dollars over the decades.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
The lockup expiration on Aug. 6 will add up to 911.5 million shares to the market, roughly doubling the amount that are freed to trade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
While extreme heat is the primary culprit, its impacts become severe when other factors like loss of vegetation and water, lack of shaded areas and inadequate veterinary services add up, experts say.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Yet even this treasury could not add up to a background of common sense sufficient to make expert systems smart enough to be experts," Denning notes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
“Which organ? She has too many involved. The numbers add up fast. They said she is beyond saving.”
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
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.
