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

If you’ve ever been stuck in that frustrating loop of UTI-like symptoms that don’t quite add up, with tests coming back negative and a shrug from your provider, ureaplasma is worth knowing about. — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Oct. 2026

Not to mention processing power—there’s no stress that adds up like a CPU that can’t keep up with the pace. — Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 19 Oct. 2026

For seniors living on a fixed income, those costs can quickly add up. — Jennifer Bisram, CBS News, 19 Oct. 2026

New York’s Massey Klein Gallery will close its doors after nine years, saying that after initial success, the numbers no longer add up to pay for its showroom on the Lower East Side and support the dealers’ family and the gallery’s artists. — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 19 Oct. 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