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.
The costs of the pots, racks and soil are nominal individually but add up fast at the scale he now operates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
They all add up to a chorus of serious voices urging a slowdown, but although it might sound like a quick fix, it is far from an easy solution.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Secondly, the company expects improved downstream performance to add up to $10 billion, she says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Likewise, double-check that percentages across all named beneficiaries add up to 100%, a common source of errors.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
There was something about this disaster that just didn’t add up.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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.
