the sum of
idiom
1
: an amount of (money)
I paid the sum of $500.
2
: the result of (adding two or more numbers together)
The sum of 5 and 7 is 12
3
: all there is of : the whole amount of
Working odd summer jobs has been the sum of my experience so far.
Examples of the sum of in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The result is more than the sum of its parts, a funny, self-aware exploitation flick that doubles as an exploration of beauty, sexuality, and self-worth.
—
Janey Tracey, EW.com, 23 May 2024
Anyone who has ever tried to make a home of a Gemini (another kind of desert oasis) understands, for better or worse, that their beloved is an enigma of contradictions that somehow make all too much sense when looked at as the sum of a kaleidoscopic whole.
—Goth Shakira, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
It is built on the premise that history is the sum of infinite numbers of small decisions that gradually coalesce into profound change — decisions like the one Mr. Hess made to integrate the Parisian.
—Rick Rojas, New York Times, 9 May 2024
Sequenced together in Ghosts of the West Vol. 1, however, these songs become more than the sum of their parts: a feat of storytelling that echoes Willie Nelson and Robert Earl Keen.
—Stephen Deusner, SPIN, 8 May 2024
The new Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton effortlessly rises above the sum of its parts.
—Blake Buettner, Robb Report, 8 May 2024
But the show ends up far less than the sum of its parts, an oddly generic and muted take on a larger-than-life American story.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 2 May 2024
Mismanaged waste is the sum of material that is discarded as litter or inadequately disposed.
—Kurt Snibbe, Orange County Register, 18 Apr. 2024
This line passes through the middle of some slice of the pizza: The number of the slice is the sum of the two numbers.
—Anil Ananthaswamy, Quanta Magazine, 12 Apr. 2024
Janey Tracey, EW.com, 23 May 2024
Anyone who has ever tried to make a home of a Gemini (another kind of desert oasis) understands, for better or worse, that their beloved is an enigma of contradictions that somehow make all too much sense when looked at as the sum of a kaleidoscopic whole.
—Goth Shakira, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
It is built on the premise that history is the sum of infinite numbers of small decisions that gradually coalesce into profound change — decisions like the one Mr. Hess made to integrate the Parisian.
—Rick Rojas, New York Times, 9 May 2024
Sequenced together in Ghosts of the West Vol. 1, however, these songs become more than the sum of their parts: a feat of storytelling that echoes Willie Nelson and Robert Earl Keen.
—Stephen Deusner, SPIN, 8 May 2024
The new Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton effortlessly rises above the sum of its parts.
—Blake Buettner, Robb Report, 8 May 2024
But the show ends up far less than the sum of its parts, an oddly generic and muted take on a larger-than-life American story.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 2 May 2024
Mismanaged waste is the sum of material that is discarded as litter or inadequately disposed.
—Kurt Snibbe, Orange County Register, 18 Apr. 2024
This line passes through the middle of some slice of the pizza: The number of the slice is the sum of the two numbers.
—Anil Ananthaswamy, Quanta Magazine, 12 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the sum of.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near the sum of
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“The sum of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20sum%20of. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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