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; see -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

Vincent, chief investment officer and founder of Summation Capital and a former investment officer for Cornell University’s endowment, joined Soho House in the early 2000s when it opened near his home in the West Village.

From Salon • May 30, 2025

Summation works from heavy hitters like Martin Scorsese and Hayao Miyazaki jockey with titles from well-heeled upstarts like Sofia Coppola and Yorgos Lanthimos.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 30, 2023

Summation notation is often known as sigma notation because it uses the Greek capital letter sigma, to represent the sum.

From Textbooks • Feb. 13, 2015

Summation results in greater contraction of the motor unit.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Summation In the discharge of energy, summation plays an important role.

From Origin and Nature of Emotions by Crile, George W. (Washington)