amount

verb \ ə-ˈmau̇nt \

Updated on: 19 May 2018

Definition of amount

intransitive verb

1 a : to be the same in meaning or effect as

acts that amount to treason

b : 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.

See amount defined for English-language learners

See amount defined for kids

Recent Examples of amount from the Web

That helps to explain why Uber is partnering with so many of these players in what amounts to a data-sharing relationship.

— johana bhuiyan, Recode, "Uber wants to sell a flying car service in five years — but we don’t know if the tech (or the law) will happen by then," 11 May 2018
All of a sudden, viewers understand over a decade’s worth of shame in what amounts to 90 seconds or less of television.

— refinery29.com, "Latinx Moms Are Giving Us TV’s Best Portrayals Of Motherhood," 11 May 2018
That would amount to nearly 100,000 people in Illinois, and would make the disease more common than Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, or HIV/AIDS.

— megan doherty, Chicago Reader, "ME myalgic encephalomyelitis chronic fatigue syndrome CFS Millions Missing Depaul University CDC," 10 May 2018
Fancy coffee The average American spends around $1,000 per year on coffee, which amounts to about $3 per day.

— The Motley Fool, "Boost your income: 27 things you're probably wasting your money on right now," 4 May 2018
In February 2018, Nassar was sentenced to what will amount to multiple lifetimes in jail in two Michigan courtrooms, on top of a federal sentence for child pornography.

— abby gardner, Glamour, "McKayla Maroney Says She Tried to Warn People About Larry Nassar in 2011," 23 Apr. 2018
Welcome to the future of pure urban mobility: Storage in the Twizy amounts to whatever the backseat passenger can hold in their hands and stash by their feet.

— andrew moseman, Popular Mechanics, "All Glory to the Renault Twizy, the Greatest Electric Car in the World*," 19 Apr. 2018
The challenge for the Louisville PAC and/or Stone’s allies will be to interest the courts in what amounts to an intramural dispute.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Suing NCAA over Louisville basketball's title is more popular than promising | Tim Sullivan," 17 Mar. 2018
The press spun what amounted to nothing more than false words filed in the form of a complaint — something any person can do for a small court fee — into false claims that have no merit.

— ashley cullins, The Hollywood Reporter, "Ryan Kavanaugh Beats $110M Film Finance Fraud Suit," 8 Mar. 2018

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

amount

noun

Definition of amount

1 a : the total number or quantity : aggregate

trying to figure the amount of time it will take

b : 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

See amount defined for English-language learners

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