summation

American  

[suh-mey-shuhn] / səˈmeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of summing.

2. the result of this; an aggregate or total.

3. a review or recapitulation of previously stated facts or statements, often with a final conclusion or conclusions drawn from them.

4. Law. the final arguments of opposing attorneys before a case goes to the jury.

5. Physiology. the arousal of impulses by a rapid succession of stimuli, carried either by separate sensory neurons spatial summation or by the same sensory neuron temporal summation.

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summation British  

/ sʌˈmeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of determining a sum; addition

2. the result of such an act or process

3. a summary

4. law the concluding statements made by opposing counsel in a case before a court

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Other Word Forms

• summational adjective
• summative adjective

Etymology

Origin of summation

1750–60; < Medieval Latin summātiōn- (stem of summātiō ), equivalent to summāt ( us ) (past participle of summāre to sum; -ate ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

A summation is a final review or conclusion, often given in a court of law. As the incompetent lawyer approached the bench for the final time, he told the judge and jury, "In summation, my client is guilty of all charges." At the end of every court case, both the defense and prosecution give a summation — a quick rundown of all the facts from the case to help the jury decide on a verdict. When used outside of the courtroom, summation simply means recounting a group of items or events. At the end of a father-son camping trip, the son gives his mother a summation of the trip. You'll note that summation begins with the prefix sum-, meaning "to add up." In fact, another definition for summation is the process of adding things together, or the final sum.

Example Sentences

With all that said, a bonfire composed of burning laptops is a good summation of 2026’s current flavor of anxiety.

From Slate • Feb. 8, 2026

"I was sort of there, hovering," is his summation of his involvement.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2026

It is the summation of the ethnographic fieldwork, bold hypotheses and sweeping synthesis unique to this scholar of rural resistance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

Her summation, in fact, ended with a lie.

From Salon • Nov. 21, 2025

For Ruth it was the summation of the affectionate elegance with which she believed her childhood had been surrounded.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison