Jump To:

• sum
  sum

  noun

  the aggregate of two or more numbers, magnitudes, quantities, or particulars as determined by or as if by the mathematical process of addition.
• SUM
  SUM

  surface-to-underwater missile.
• sum-
  sum-

  variant of sub- before m: summon.

sum

¹ American  

[suhm] / sʌm /

noun

• sums
  plural

1. the aggregate of two or more numbers, magnitudes, quantities, or particulars as determined by or as if by the mathematical process of addition.

   The sum of 6 and 8 is 14.

2. a particular aggregate or total, especially with reference to money.

   The expenses came to an enormous sum.

3. an indefinite amount or quantity, especially of money.

   to lend small sums.

4. a series of numbers or quantities to be added up.

5. an arithmetical problem to be solved, or such a problem worked out and having the various steps shown.

6. the full amount, or the whole.

7. the substance or gist of a matter, comprehensively or broadly viewed or expressed.

   the sum of his opinions.

8. concise or brief form.

   in sum.

9. Mathematics.

   1. the limit of the sequence of partial sums of a given infinite series.

   2. union.

10. a summary.

---

verb (used with object)

• sums,
  present (3rd person singular)
• summed,
  past participle,  past
• summing
  present participle

1. to combine into an aggregate or total (often followed byup ).

2. to ascertain the sum of, as by addition.

3. to bring into or contain in a small compass (often followed byup ).

verb (used without object)

• sums,
  present (3rd person singular)
• summed,
  past participle,  past
• summing
  present participle

1. to amount (usually followed by to orinto ).

   Their expenses summed into the thousands.

verb phrase

1. sum up

   1. to reckon.

      We summed up our assets and liabilities.

   2. to bring into or contain in a brief and comprehensive statement; summarize.

      to sum up the case for the prosecution.

   3. to form a quick estimate of.

      I summed him up in a minute.

SUM ² American  

1. surface-to-underwater missile.

---

sum- ³ American  

1. variant of sub- before m: summon.

---

sum ¹ British  

/ sʌm /

noun

1. 1. the result of the addition of numbers, quantities, objects, etc

   2. the cardinality of the union of disjoint sets whose cardinalities are the given numbers

2. one or more columns or rows of numbers to be added, subtracted, multiplied, or divided

3. maths the limit of a series of sums of the first n terms of a converging infinite series as n tends to infinity

4. (plural) another name for number work

5. a quantity, esp of money

   he borrows enormous sums

6. the essence or gist of a matter (esp in the phrases in sum, in sum and substance )

7. a less common word for summary

8. archaic the summit or maximum

9. (modifier) complete or final (esp in the phrase sum total )

---

verb

1. (often foll by up) to add or form a total of (something)

2. (tr) to calculate the sum of (the terms in a sequence)

sum ² British  

/ sʊm /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of Uzbekistan, divided into 100 tiyin

---

sum Scientific  

/ sŭm /

1. The result of adding numbers or quantities. The sum of 6 and 9, for example, is 15, and the sum of 4 x and 5 x is 9 x.

---

Synonym Usage

See number.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sumlessness
  noun
• outsum
  verb (used with object)
• sumless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sums
  plural

Participles

• summing
  present
• summed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sum
  simple
• sums
  simple
• have summed
  perfect
• has summed
  perfect
• am summing
  progressive
• are summing
  progressive
• is summing
  progressive
• have been summing
  perfect progressive
• has been summing
  perfect progressive

Past

• summed
  simple
• had summed
  perfect
• was summing
  progressive
• were summing
  progressive
• had been summing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sum
  simple
• will have summed
  perfect
• will be summing
  progressive
• will have been summing
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of sum

First recorded in 1250–1300; (noun) Middle English summe, from Latin summa “sum,” noun use of feminine of summus “highest,” superlative of superus ( see superior); (verb) Middle English summen (from Old French summer ), from Medieval Latin summāre, derivative of summa

---

Explanation

When you determine the sum, you add up all the numbers. When you sum something up, you focus on all of its important points. The word sum can also refer to a certain amount of money. A new car might cost you a huge sum of money. But if you sum or add up all its benefits, you might be able to justify spending so much. You calculate the total on a restaurant bill when you sum up the prices of everything you ordered. Sum doesn't have to refer strictly to numbers. When you sum something up, you're giving an overview or general statement about it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sum SUM sum- sums summed summing

There’s no monetary prize, though the winner will be paid a small sum for recording the announcements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Salespeople or brokers quote consumers a price, which seems astronomical as a lump sum, and present a rate of return.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

A South Korean news report, citing an unnamed source, says some locals were offered four-night tour packages for around $100, a substantial sum for most North Koreans.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

The document, prepared for the Las Vegas Raiders as part of a coaching search, attempts to sum up Flores’s skills in candid, and sometimes controversial, terms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Long before the sum was raised Father came down with the hepatitis that almost cost his life: during the long stay in the hospital his beard turned snow white.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

SUM has staged 100 games for Mexico’s men’s team in the U.S. over the last 20 years, annual tours that account for more than a third of the federation’s annual budget.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2022

SUM puts on an average of five exhibition games involving Mexico each year.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 2016

“Where is the money, where is it going and what does it look like – SUM included? Let’s find out.”

From The Guardian ● Apr. 11, 2016

The organizers capitalized SUM at the exorbitant amount of $500,000 and named the nation’s first planned industrial city in honor of New Jersey governor William Paterson.

From Time ● Dec. 28, 2015

This principle, and so characterised manifests itself in the SUM or I AM; which I shall hereafter indiscriminately express by the words spirit, self, and self-consciousness.

From Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

He was embarrassed at having sum- moned a senior representative of the U.S. government all this way.

From MSNBC ● Nov. 7, 2017

The company is worth at least $72 a share, based on a sum- of-the-parts analysis by Bernstein’s Dibadj.

From BusinessWeek ● Sep. 21, 2011

He did not have the careless, almost British look of most of the Devon Masters, because he was a substitute for the sum- mer.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

By sum- mer he’d learned the basics of the uranium bomb.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin

“Is it true that on sundry occasions during the sum- mer you have entered her house and visited with her?”

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

Since June's record highs, traders have been questioning elevated valuations and when companies would see returns -- if any -- on the colossal sums they have spent to get ahead in the artificial intelligence race.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

Investors are increasingly questioning the sustainability of the capex cycle and whether sufficient returns can be derived from the initial investment, given the huge sums involved.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

Some people look at the sums going into AI and see a bubble.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Families already pay extraordinary sums for health coverage — by some measures, the monthly cost of employer-sponsored family health coverage now rivals the typical monthly mortgage payment.

From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026

He had invested large sums in the hunt, and the animal itself was very valuable.

From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks

One placard summed up the mood: "Everything's fine, except everything."

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

A line on the T-shirt Lincoln wore summed up his feelings: “No trail on my ancestors’ bones.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

Sykes summed up “a pretty strong operating environment for banks” by citing high levels of consumer spending and continuing increases in U.S. households’ net worth.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2026

Mis-control shortly afterwards showed more signs of nerves and pass straight out of play summed up United's first half hour.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

As I read aloud it seemed that the poet, longing for his absent love, exactly summed up my own sorrows.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

The 10-year yield hits its highest level in more than 19 years, summing up investors’ worries about a flurry of Fed interest-rate hikes.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

Major said, summing up the sentiment he heard from clients.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Mike Murphy continues his wonderful series of What’s Worth Streaming, reviewing the offerings from eight streaming services and summing up which ones are worth paying for and which ones you should skip for the month.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

The inquest began at the end of January, and the coroner Mr Justice Rooney completed his summing up on Monday.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

The detective was conscious of those strange shrewd eyes summing him up before the other spoke again.

From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• amount
• bulk
• quantity
• value
• worth

---