summary

American  

[suhm-uh-ree] / ˈsʌm ə ri /

noun

• summaries
  plural

1. a comprehensive and usually brief abstract, recapitulation, or compendium of previously stated facts or statements.

   Synonyms:

   précis, outline

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adjective

1. brief and comprehensive; concise.

   Synonyms:

   succinct, compact, condensed, short

2. direct and prompt; unceremoniously fast.

   to treat someone with summary dispatch.

   Synonyms:

   brusque, terse, curt

3. (of legal proceedings, jurisdiction, etc.) conducted without, or exempt from, the various steps and delays of a formal trial.

summary British  

/ ˈsʌmərɪ /

noun

1. a brief account giving the main points of something

---

adjective

1. performed arbitrarily and quickly, without formality

   a summary execution

2. (of legal proceedings) short and free from the complexities and delays of a full trial

3. the right a court has to adjudicate immediately upon some matter arising during its proceedings

4. giving the gist or essence

Synonym Usage

Summary, brief, digest, synopsis are terms for a short version of a longer work. A summary is a brief statement or restatement of main points, especially as a conclusion to a work: a summary of a chapter. A brief is a detailed outline, by heads and subheads, of a discourse (usually legal) to be completed: a brief for an argument. A digest is an abridgment of an article, book, etc., or an organized arrangement of material under heads and titles: a digest of a popular novel; a digest of Roman law. A synopsis is usually a compressed statement of the plot of a novel, play, etc.: a synopsis of Hamlet.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• summariness
  noun
• summarily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• summaries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of summary

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin summārium, equivalent to summ(a) “sum” + -ārium noun suffix; see sum, -ary

Explanation

A summary gives a short overview, or the main points, of something longer. She talked for days about the 800-page romantic novel, but her boyfriend's summary was "Girl meets boy, boy meets girl, boy rides horse into sunset, girl meets new boy. The end." Summary is a noun, and "summery" is an adjective, but they sound alike and both describe something short. A summer feels like a short piece of a long year, and a summary is a short statement about a longer piece. When a long speech or writing needs retelling in a short amount of time, a summary conveys the meaning in fewer words. Often a book cover has a summary of what's inside, and an introduction has a summary of the main points in a chapter.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

summary summaries

"The Court concluded that the litigation had been pursued in a way that took it 'well outside the norm'," the summary of the ruling said, noting "the gravity of the allegations" among other factors.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

But an official summary states that federal regulators may impose “sanctions and economic fines” against outlets that violate the new standards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

With the 13 companies listed in the same order as on the chart, here is a summary of 12-month price targets, along with forward price/sales ratios.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

In a study published in 2025, Hwang and his colleagues found that the frontoparietal cortex develops an ongoing high-level summary of information arriving from elsewhere in the brain.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

Taken together, his overlapping themes lend themselves to easy summary: unity at home and independence abroad.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Now, with AI summaries and LLMs, Baden and her colleagues have to be creative with how they write updates to this map to ensure LLMs aggregate the information accurately.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

Evans said he did see brief maternity summaries - "usually a couple of paragraphs" - attached to each baby's neonatal notes.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

That’s a passive-aggressive approach that looks like this: sending the boss updates every 30 minutes, asking questions you already know the answer to and emailing summaries of every minor meeting or interaction.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

It prepared risk summaries on stocks that factored in such things as related-party transactions and past misdeeds among executives or subtle changes to accounting policies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

His father set all four summaries on his desk, side by side, and read each one twice.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

Related Words

• analysis
• essence
• outline
• prospectus
• recap
• rehash
• review
• rundown
• sketch
• survey
• synopsis
• version