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

• come (to)
• correspond (to)
• amount (to)

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

Suspicious debit card purchases add up to more than $32,000 Numerous suspicious purchases were recorded on the Sumner County Food Bank’s Volunteer State Bank debit card from February 2020-May 2022, totaling $32,029.41. —Katie Nixon, The Tennessean, 5 Aug. 2025

Mateyo sees the economic and policy uncertainty adding up to a recipe for caution. —Jeff Cox, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2025

All of it adds up to one simple truth—no one builds a world quite like Anderson. —Brett Braley, Robb Report, 30 July 2025

This for me adds up to the most all-round competitive roster of TVs that Value Electronics has ever put together for one of its shootouts – which of course makes Sony’s overall victory with the Bravia 8 II all the more impressive. —John Archer, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2

Rhymes for add up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

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