verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
summaristnoun
-
summarizationnoun
-
summarizernoun
-
summarizableadjective
-
unsummarizableadjective
-
unsummarizedadjective
-
well-summarizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
summarizesimple
-
summarizessimple
-
have summarizedperfect
-
has summarizedperfect
-
am summarizingprogressive
-
are summarizingprogressive
-
is summarizingprogressive
-
have been summarizingperfect progressive
-
has been summarizingperfect progressive
Past
-
summarizedsimple
-
had summarizedperfect
-
was summarizingprogressive
-
were summarizingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Language of Standardized Tests, List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Ms. Kingsolver dramatizes it by way of a village recital, turning to music to evoke the feelings that straightforward exposition would heavy-handedly summarize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Forty-eight percent of students in the Fordham survey admitted to using AI to solve math problems, 36% to summarize books, 29% to write first drafts or essays, and 26% for help during quizzes and tests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
With half of 2026 having already flown by, it is time to summarize which stocks have performed best so far this year.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 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’s simple reading comprehension. Read the paragraph and summarize, in a couple of sentences, what it was about. That’s it. It’s not rocket science.”
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
The Gallup Economic Confidence Index summarizes Americans' assessments of current economic conditions and economic outlook and puts them on a scale of -100 to +100.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
These worrying landmarks reinforce a market perception that fixed-income investments are losing bets, a sentiment Hartnett summarizes as “Anything But Bonds.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Edmans summarizes the field of behavioral finance research with a refreshingly light touch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 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
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
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
That behavior appears to conflict with Newton's third law, the famous action and reaction principle often summarized as "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 16, 2026
For a married couple, that income range would be $161,551 to $323,200, as summarized by NerdWallet.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026
“So,” Kennedy summarized, “it still comes down to a question of whether they’re going to fire the missiles.”
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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
The White House typically releases physician-written memos summarizing presidential physicals, translating full medical records into condensed clinical findings for public release.
From Salon ● May 31, 2026
He returned to summarizing the book, emphasizing examples of where Valjean served others.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
