Definition of amount
intransitive verb
1a : to be the same in meaning or effect as acts that amount to treasonb : to reach in kind or quality : to turn out to be wanted her son to amount to something [=to be successful] The changes don't really amount to much. [=are not really substantial or significant]
2 : to reach a total : add up The bill amounts to $10.
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of amount from the Web
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The support of the federal government amounted to little more than another photo opportunity to showcase Clinton as a feminist icon.
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This would take up to six years and would amount to increased payments of about 6 percent.
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The authors conclude that the male baboons’ behavior amounts to sexual intimidation.
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Fitzgerald, the embattled mayor of the city of 12,400 just north of Cincinnati, said Weisgerber's failure to scold the commenter amounted to a tacit endorsement.
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Today a single taffymaker can crank out five times that amount annually, and over the last century the gooey treat has become synonymous with the carefree days of summer.
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Dropping 10 fathoms down, below the green waves of the Gulf and back in time to this prehistoric world amounts to a sort of time traveler’s journey.
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That amounted to an efficiency gap of 10.3 percent in favor of Michigan’s Republicans, one of the highest advantages among all states.
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In what amounts to a pre-holiday dry run, the village will display a prototype of a lighted holiday decoration that could be adorning streetlight poles along LaGrange Road by December.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'amount.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of amount
Middle English, from Anglo-French amounter, from amount upward, from a- (from Latin ad-) + mont mountain — more at mount
amount
Definition of amount
1a : the total number or quantity : aggregate trying to figure the amount of time it will takeb : the quantity at hand or under consideration has an enormous amount of energy
2 : the whole effect, significance, or import
3 accounting : a principal sum and the interest on it
amount vs. number
Number is regularly used with count nouns a large number of mistakes any number of times while amount is mainly used with mass nouns. annual amount of rainfall a substantial amount of money The use of amount with count nouns has been frequently criticized; it usually occurs when the number of things is thought of as a mass or collection glad to furnish any amount of black pebbles — New Yorker a substantial amount of film offers — Lily Tomlin or when money is involved. a substantial amount of loans — E. R. Black
Examples of amount in a Sentence
The drug is not being produced in adequate amounts.
What is the amount to be paid?
An amount was finally agreed upon.
The new law limits the amount a candidate can spend.
When he died we found he owed money to the amount of $250,000!
Recent Examples of amount from the Web
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The committee instead approved the same amount of money—$6.03 billion—that those directorates received this year. (
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Abrahamson agreed to raise the bail amount by $100,000.
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It was determined that the amount of chairs was excessive based on the size of the pens and could potentially pose a safety hazard as well as block ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) access to the pens.
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The biggest thing is just that it's been just this insurmountable amount of anxiety.
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This would seem to include CBD extracts, even those with trace amounts of THC.
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Including but certainly not limited to: the amount of chairs available, the summer camps also inhabiting the space and the temperature outside.
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The story is unbelievable, as is the amount of research that went into its telling, and yet not once does Toobin get bogged down in the details.
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The city zoned the land for that amount of housing.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'amount.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of amount
see 1amount
AMOUNT Defined for English Language Learners
amount
Definition of amount for English Language Learners
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: a quantity of something
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: a quantity of money
AMOUNT Defined for Kids
Definition of amount for Students
amounted
;amounting
1 : to add up The bill amounted to ten dollars.
2 : to be the same in meaning or effect Giving up would amount to failure.
Definition of amount for Students
: the total number or quantity Add a small amount of salt.
Learn More about amount
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See words that rhyme with amount Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for amount Spanish Central: Translation of amount Nglish: Translation of amount for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of amount for Arabic speakers
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