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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.
Synonyms

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. 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

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

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

  3. (plural) another name for number work

  4. a quantity, esp of money

    he borrows enormous sums

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

  6. a less common word for summary

  7. archaic the summit or maximum

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sum 2 British  
/ sʊm /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing sum

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.

See Examples For:

The proposed sum is staggering to people familiar with the State Department’s allocation practices and would dwarf the organization’s budget.

From Salon Jul. 21, 2026

Carlos Salmon, a certified financial planner and partner at Wooster Square Advisors, recalled a client in her 80s who inherited a large sum of money that changed her financial situation “overnight.”

From MarketWatch Jul. 18, 2026

Her $10 on Bryce and Trinity was less about earning a large lump sum and more about getting heavily invested in the show.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 15, 2026

The spinoff was intended to eliminate the so-called conglomerate discount, referring to the gap between a company’s market value and that of the sum of its parts.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 8, 2026

The Payable To space beside the sum was blank, but I knew it had been paid to the Blythes.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

That decision opened space for SUM to expand its role with Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times May 23, 2022

SUM profits when Mexico’s national team is promoted in the US.

From The Guardian Jan. 19, 2018

A healthy slice of the revenue from those events and from sponsorship deals cut by SUM is distributed to the owners of MLS teams.

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

Dennis O'Kelly always threw with great success; and when he held the box he was seldom known to refuse throwing for ANY SUM that the company chose to set him.

From The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims Volume I (of II) by Steinmetz, Andrew

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

Once, diplomatic counterparts who controlled huge sums were regarded warily by U.S. diplomats.

From Slate Jul. 22, 2026

Victims of Communism has received a handful of government grants in the past, but for much smaller sums.

From Salon Jul. 21, 2026

Other countries, including Qatar, have spent large sums over the years on influence efforts.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 19, 2026

With some religious institutions managing vast sums of money and operating on a scale comparable to major corporations, ensuring transparency is a persistent challenge.

From Barron's Jul. 19, 2026

I like to put my head down and write my words, do my sums, and try not to think about anything else.

From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani

Former England goalkeeper and BBC Sport pundit Joe Hart summed it up well.

From BBC Jul. 20, 2026

But even if the country’s worst impulses still bubbled up, U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams described a sentiment around his team that might as well have summed up the whole tournament.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 18, 2026

But it was the sight of loosehead prop Ox Nche stampeding through Ollie Chessum and Jamie George, with the England defence desperately, vainly backpedalling, that summed up a brutally chastening opening salvo.

From BBC Jul. 4, 2026

One employee summed up the mood with a meme from "The Office," posted on an internal company forum, reading: "0 days since our last nonsense."

From Barron's Jul. 1, 2026

“Eurgh” just about summed up the Blast-Ended Skrewts in Harry’s opinion.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

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

In summing up his aspirations, Angle mentions the film “Jurassic Park.”

From The Wall Street Journal May 4, 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

“The ones who aren’t creators or influencers see wearers as cringe,” Cohen said, sardonically summing up the general feeling of nonwearers as “Your life is not that cool, bro.”

From Slate Feb. 12, 2026

In one of Kepler’s lesser-known works, Volume-Measurement of Barrels, he does this in three dimensions, slicing barrels into planes and summing the planes together.

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

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