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.
Added Diamond: “It’s crazy. Let one line reach. Let it not add up to anything and touch you.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
Altogether, the company’s capex will add up to about $200 billion this year.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
Speaking on Monday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said there was "still a lot of information that doesn't add up".
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
Over time, more charges began to add up to a tipping point.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
"I read your trial transcript. Things didn't add up."
From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon
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.
