verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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summaristnoun
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summarizationnoun
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summarizernoun
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summarizableadjective
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unsummarizableadjective
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unsummarizedadjective
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well-summarizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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summarizesimple
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summarizessimple
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have summarizedperfect
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has summarizedperfect
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am summarizingprogressive
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are summarizingprogressive
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is summarizingprogressive
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have been summarizingperfect progressive
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has been summarizingperfect progressive
Past
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summarizedsimple
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had summarizedperfect
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was summarizingprogressive
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were summarizingprogressive
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had been summarizingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
In a statement, the estate said that it chose to support “Tony” because it is “not a standard biopic and doesn’t attempt to summarize a life.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
To summarize, Nelson said: “It is important to let winners run. Common mistakes are to sell winners too soon and keep losers for too long.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
The company said the suite of tools can give any agent —an AI which can work autonomously— the ability to synthesize and summarize scientific knowledge, evaluate results, and then reason and execute the next actions.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
It has released new AI features that allow users to improve their writing, translate text, summarize messages and create images.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
The two tables opposite summarize the history of these two sorts of measurement.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
"Since dietary decisions are strongly influenced by reward assessment and physical state, targeted breath regulation could also play a role in consciously perceiving and more effectively managing eating behavior," Park summarizes for future research activities.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
Yeah, the skit you used of him saying “I’m just a man from the ghetto” on the song really summarizes that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Another file summarizes statements from seven federal government employees who separately reported "several unidentified anomalous phenomena" in the United States in 2023.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
Savouri summarizes the problem as “analogue economics in a digital monetary world.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 15, 2026
As Table 7.1 summarizes, the domestication of local cereal / pulse combinations launched food production in many areas.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
As Patti summarized it, "there is no free lunch" when searching for sugar alternatives, particularly when several metabolic pathways can ultimately lead toward liver dysfunction.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
The answer is best summarized by a response from one of the documentary’s co-directors, Julia Willoughby Nason, when asked whether she thinks Netflix is the top source for true crime obsessives.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
Gen. Rob Bonta’s office summarized a strict new voter ID measure on November ballots — ruling that the summary language accurately describes the measure’s effects were it to pass.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
“Anything but bonds” would remain the default position of investors, neatly summarized as “can’t buy bonds, can’t sell stocks.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
I was happy whenever I understood the plot and summarized it, but this was not good enough.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
According to Tim Mackey, a professor of global health at the University of California, San Diego, A.I. responses appear to be getting better at summarizing research, weighing credibility, and discerning misinformation.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
They often tune them to excel at narrow tasks, like summarizing documents or answering customer questions on company-specific topics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The state now has 49 days to address the issues outlined in a report released Thursday summarizing the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
“My AI is in the room during Zoom calls with clients. It’s taking notes, summarizing the meeting and writing follow-up emails.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
After summarizing the Crown’s case against us, Vernon Berrange, our lead counsel, announced our argument.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
