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.
Under state law, any single gift — or multiple gifts from the same source that add up to $50 or more during the annual period — must be disclosed.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 28, 2026
The trick was to do a little of everything and let the effects add up.
From Salon • Jun. 26, 2026
For many Americans, the math of homeownership doesn’t add up any more.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 2026
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
Dell tried, in desperation, to add up the events of the long and challenging month.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
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.
