verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of summarize
Explanation
To summarize something, only include the important stuff. If your teacher asks you to summarize several events from the Civil War, she wants the important facts, not every single detail you can find. When you summarize something, you write or tell the general idea and only the most important points. It's a skill we often use in school or at work, but even in our personal lives, we summarize: like when a friend asks what the book you're reading is about, or someone wants to know about your recent vacation. You don't tell them every single detail, talking yourself to exhaustion. Instead, you summarize — describing just the key events that "sum up" the experience.
Vocabulary lists containing summarize
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 1
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 1
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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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.
A captivating obituary doesn’t just summarize one’s life.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
Brian Chesky, CEO of vacation-rental app Airbnb, said during the company’s earnings call last week that AI would help offer more granular detail on consumers and help summarize reviews of rental locations.
From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026
From there, the ins and outs of the trial are difficult to summarize.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
County judges now have access to an artificial intelligence tool that can help them summarize motions and draft rulings in civil court.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
More generally, a modifier can dangle when its implied subject is the writer and the reader, as in To summarize and In order to start the motor in the examples above.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
