add up

verb

added up; adding up; adds up

intransitive verb

1

a

: to come to the expected total

the bill doesn't add up

b

: to form an intelligible pattern : make sense

her story just doesn't add up

2

a

: amount sense 1b

—used with to

the play adds up to a lot of laughs

b

: to amount to a lot

just a little each time, but it all adds up

transitive verb

: to form an opinion of

added him up at a glance

Synonyms

• amount (to)
• come (to)
• correspond (to)
• emulate
• equal

Examples of add up in a Sentence

whether we take the 4:00 train or the 4:15 bus, it adds up to the same thing: they both get us back too late

even if we pool all our money, it won't add up to enough to rent a beach house for a week

Recent Examples on the Web

Up 14% annually, the S&P 500’s gain is double that of stocks in developing countries and adds up to three times as large as investment-grade bonds. —Ryan Hogg, Fortune, 10 June 2024

The funds added up to $12,000 per family, a hefty sum that could be leveraged in many ways. —Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2024

The team’s expenses added up to $23.4 million, marking a surplus of $5.1 million. —Ron Counts, Idaho Statesman, 9 June 2024

Those outsize impacts add up to why Salle has dubbed the vessels a form of ecocide. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune Europe, 9 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2

Kids Definition

add up

verb

1

a

: to come to a total and especially the expected total

b

: to make sense

her story just doesn't add up

2

: to amount to a lot

just a little each time, but it all adds up