Jump To:

• sum-up
  sum-up

  noun

  the act or result of summing up; summary.
• sum up
  sum up

  verb

  to summarize (feelings, the main points of an argument, etc)

sum-up

American  

[suhm-uhp] / ˈsʌmˌʌp /

Or sumup

noun

1. the act or result of summing up; summary.

---

sum up British  

verb

1. to summarize (feelings, the main points of an argument, etc)

   the judge began to sum up

2. (tr) to form a quick opinion of

   I summed him up in five minutes

---

sum up Idioms  

1. Present the substance of, summarize, as in They always sum up the important news in a couple of minutes, or That expletive sums up my feelings about the matter. [Early 1600s]

---

Etymology

Origin of sum-up

First recorded in 1890–95; noun use of verb phrase sum up

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sum-up sum up

Still, I was in awe of how quickly and seamlessly these entire presentations came together day after day, drawing from full-on hours of multiple sports to give you a tidy sum-up the very next day.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2024

The coaches were asked to avoid asking her open-ended questions in the morning and to provide a sum-up at the end of team briefings to ensure they had been understood.

From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2024

A cogent sum-up in the column came from former Washington Monthly editor Charles Peters:

From Salon ● Dec. 5, 2018

In a voxpop video at the entrance to the exhibition, Edna Croft attempts to sum-up freemasonry: "It used to be rather sinister and secretive, but they've made desperate attempts to prove they're just a charity."

From The Guardian ● Jun. 5, 2013

The sum-up is as important a part of the sales letter as it is of the lawyer's speech or brief.

From Business Correspondence by Anonymous

The document, prepared for the Las Vegas Raiders as part of a coaching search, attempts to sum up Flores’s skills in candid, and sometimes controversial, terms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

His words sum up the key difference between this series and the regular civilian version.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

Here are the numbers that sum up the Dodgers’ 2026 regular season:

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

Critic W. David Marx, looking to sum up the curiously stagnant opening decades of the 21st century, cribbed a phrase from one of its enduring icons for the title of his book “Blank Space.”

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

In January, when the government was scheduled to sum up its charges, the Crown brought in a new prosecutor, the formidable Oswald Pirow, Q.C.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• epitomize
• examine
• sum

---