sum total
Americannoun
-
complete numerical total.
the sum total of my savings.
-
essence; substance.
The sum total of research in the field.
Etymology
Origin of sum total
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400
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.
Though each home’s energy generation is capped at a relatively paltry 800 watts, their sum total across the country equates to a large power plant, he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
But he devoted a sum total of fewer than six pages to this radical claim and spent most of them mischaracterizing Supreme Court precedent.
From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2025
Ten minutes versus Nice; 28 versus Fraserburgh; 12 versus Motherwell; and one against St Mirren has been the sum total of Rice's first-team involvement.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2025
The sum total of these ideas is our culture, which “makes our individual lives rich and fulfilling,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2024
“Though, in fairness, I’ve spent a lifetime sum total of five hours in Atlanta. So far.”
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
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.
