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 of add up

• 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

Over time, these small issues add up, affecting both vehicle appearance and passenger comfort. — New Atlas, 13 July 2026

The Dodgers still hold a very healthy 11½-game lead in the NL West, but hitting and defensive woes add up in a 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026

Those two numbers add up to a challenge for Penny Pennington, the managing partner of Edward Jones Investments, one of the largest wealth management firms in the US. — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 10 July 2026

Together, those 10 daily prunes only add up to fewer than 6 grams of fiber each day. — Sarah Klein, Time, 10 July 2026

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