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• 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.

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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.

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sum- ³ American  

1. variant of sub- before m: summon.

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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 )

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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

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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.

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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

Here are the numbers that sum up the Dodgers’ 2026 regular season:

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

The fees the club stated they spent on the trio at the time the transfers were announced added up to £153m, and it is not clear where the additional sum has been spent.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

He calculates that roughly 100 million taxpayers could get the entire $1,700, while another 21 million could receive a partial sum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The climactic section “Cosmic Bloom,” a flashy interstellar big bang, doesn’t transcend the sum of its parts as it was meant to.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Once again, let us consider the story of Achilles and the tortoise, which is an infinite sum of steps that get closer and closer to zero.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

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 was founded at the same time to try and monetize marketing and TV rights for league and national federation alike.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 30, 2018

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

From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 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

Discord; holding up her finger, but needing the inscription above to assure us of her meaning, “DISCORDIA SUM, DISCORDANS.”

From The Stones of Venice, Volume II (of 3), by John Ruskin

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

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

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

Years of relatively high domestic energy bills have left some people facing big sums in unpaid bills.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Existing pub owners worry that loosening the regime would wipe out the large sums of money they invested to obtain their licenses in the first place.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Love quickly gained the trust of dozens of women, allegedly convincing them to give him large sums of money.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Part of the US advantage stems from the vast sums being invested in leading AI companies as the frontier labs burn through mountains of cash to build the infrastructure to train new models.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Each day they hosted banquets for one another at which they squandered unbelievable sums.

From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby

She summed up her comparison this way: “If you remove the frame of the cathedral, those stained glass windows shatter. They’re useless.”

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

An official from a group that represents London councils summed up the issue in testimony to Parliament in 2009:

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

The eighth round summed up both Itauma's extraordinary talent and his lack of experience.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

I’d barely unpacked my vacation bags when a gaggle of sources and news reports grabbed my attention, and the Calmatters story and headline neatly summed things up:

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

Nevertheless, Einstein never accepted that the universe was governed by chance; his feelings were summed up in his famous statement “God does not play dice.”

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

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

"So far, wait and see," one EU diplomat said, on condition of anonymity, summing up the attitude toward Magyar.

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

His defence lawyers were due to begin summing up their case later.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

That,” said Joe, summing up with his judicial air, “were the word of Biddy. ‘Go to him,’ Biddy say, ‘without loss of time.’

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Related Words

• amount
• bulk
• quantity
• value
• worth