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.
I give her a one-page spreadsheet listing where all our money is, the balances and how the sum total compares with previous years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 2025
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
Starting in the 1950s and up to 2019, there was a sum total of roughly 2,000 operating satellites in orbit.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 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
He said that 360 degrees represented “the sum total of knowledge.”
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
