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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

To put that sum in perspective, consider that the vast majority of American households have saved far less for retirement.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

That figure remains in the accounts, but the party said Murrell had not "formally requested" the sum to be paid back.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

When you get locked up, your digital presence is the total sum of your activity on social media, and its footprints continue stepping without you.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

This incredible access to food—from carts of dim sum in Chinatown to the perfectly chewy Upper West Side bagels I was raised on—instilled in me a lifelong appreciation and appetite for food of all kinds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Thus we can sum up the argument so far very straightforwardly.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The inclusion of the women’s squad under the SUM umbrella is new and underscores interest by the federation in the team.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 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

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

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 Ruskin, John

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 2021, college athletes have been able to earn money through NIL — sometimes getting paid huge sums with little oversight, a situation that’s been likened to the “Wild West.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

The three situations appear entirely different, but the investigation into the related-party loans made by Walter’s Delaware Life and its affiliate, Clear Spring Life and Annuity, involves vast sums of money.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

But the World Bank sees ways of avoiding excessive dependence on one or the other of the two rivals without having to spend the large sums required to replicate the AI supply chain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

"When you're working to live, these aren't small sums of money. It wasn't for luxuries, it was to survive. I was working to pay my bills," Joan adds.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

We ridicule their piety, their small economies, the size of their feet, their rubber plant, which sums them up.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

B. Riley analyst Mike Crawford summed up the political-military scene in a note to clients on Thursday by referring to “an emerging generational recapitalization of global defense posture and budgets.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

It summed up an England career that never fulfilled its potential.

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

A young jockey named George Woolf, aboard for one of these woeful performances, summed up the colt’s mental state in four words: “mean, restive and ragged.”

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

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

“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

A shellshocked Swiatek lost seven games in a row against Bencic, including a rare set to love, with a racquet toss and tears at the end of the match summing up her frustration.

From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026

I watched, wondering what her purpose was. finally, she spoke, summing up her work.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Related Words

• amount
• bulk
• quantity
• value
• worth