amount

verb

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\ ə-ˈmau̇nt

amounted; amounting; amounts

Definition of amount

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1a : 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.

amount

noun

Definition of amount (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : 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

Synonyms Amount vs. Number: Usage Guide More Example Sentences Phrases Containing amount Learn More About amount

Amount vs. Number: Usage Guide

Noun

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

Noun 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 on the Web: Verb Patagonia estimates this will amount to around $100 million annually. — Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2022 Social Security COLA may be largest in 40 years: When will amount be announced? — Leada Gore | Lgore@al.com, al, 15 Sep. 2022 Here’s a closer look at the forecast: New rainfall on Sunday is expected to amount to less than a tenth of an inch, except during the thunderstorms when higher amounts are possible. — Jeanne Houck, The Enquirer, 15 Aug. 2022 Those inaccuracies would reasonably be expected to amount to a material adverse effect, the court found. — Jennifer Williams-alvarez, WSJ, 14 July 2022 Amplify was never expected to amount to much in the first place. — Christopher Helman, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2021 Despite expressing concerns about the sergeant’s work, Circuit Judge Jennifer Schiffer ruled Boles’ errors did not amount to perjury or recklessness. — Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 1 Sep. 2022 According to both her and Goldman, the Slack messages that Berenson published don’t amount to proof that the government pressured Twitter to remove Berenson’s account. — Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2022 Some consumers reported paying around $3,000 to $3,500 on some car warranties that didn't amount to much. — Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 17 Aug. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun But that amount — up to $425 million a year, based on legislative analyst data — isn’t much compared with what the state already is spending: $7.6 billion this fiscal year alone. — George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2022 So, to say that any amount of momentum — or made field goal — would have changed the outcome is probably wrong. — Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 Sep. 2022 The right amount of police officers, with the correct skills, need to be in the right places at the right time. — Matt Burgess, WIRED, 18 Sep. 2022 Auburn saw 19 players transfer out of the program, while there was a considerable amount of turnover on the coaching staff, including at both coordinator positions. — Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 17 Sep. 2022 An additional amount, guised as internet handling fee or facilitation fee, too, is sometimes charged by businesses to make up for their dues to payment processing companies. — Mimansa Verma, Quartz, 16 Sep. 2022 Youth at the fair’s 4-H/FFA livestock sale raised $177,500, a record amount, which will go to 70 young people for a 2023 project or other educational purposes. — Cassidy Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 16 Sep. 2022 In the study, different groups of rats were exposed to a normal light amount, six hours of blue light and 12 hours of blue light per day. — Alexa Mikhail, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2022 The amount of caviar sold per year at the Paris flagship and retail store. — Gabe Ulla, WSJ, 15 Sep. 2022 See More

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.

History and Etymology for amount

Verb

Middle English amounten "to mount (a horse), increase, (of a sum, period of time) add up (to), come (to), be worth, be equal (to)," borrowed from Anglo-French amunter, amounter (continental Old French amonter) "to rise, increase, be worth, add up (to)," derivative of amunt, amount (continental Old French amont) "above, upward," univerbation of the adverbial phrase a mont "upward," literally "to the mountain," from a "to" (going back to Latin ad) + mont "mountain," going back to Latin mont-, mons — more at ad-, mount entry 1

Note: Alternatively Old French and Anglo-French amunter, amonter could be taken as a derivative of munter, monter "to mount" (see mount entry 2) with the prefix a-, usually forming transitive verbs. Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch lists the verb under both the etymon mons and *montare.

Noun

Middle English amunte, borrowed from Anglo-French, noun derivative of amunter "to rise, increase, be worth, add up (to)" — more at amount entry 1

Note: The noun is sparsely attested in Middle English and Anglo-French, and the post-medieval English noun should probably be taken as directly derived from the verb amount entry 1.