greater/better/more than the sum of its parts

idiom

—used to say that something is better or more effective as a team, combination, etc., than would be expected when looking at the different parts that form it

The team lacks standout players, but it has proved to be greater than the sum of its parts.

Examples of greater/better/more than the sum of its parts in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At the intersection of the music industry and the automotive industry — where cars sell music and music sells cars — there is an indelible connection that, Berman said, is greater than the sum of its parts. —Liam Rappleye, USA Today, 18 July 2025

My only wish is that Josh Pearson had been able to get an at bat, but even that demonstrates the larger point about this team rising to be better than the sum of its parts: a senior fan favorite who accepts a platoon role with grace. —Mitch Sherman, New York Times, 22 June 2025

Packed with some of the year’s best action sequences that not only deliver the spectacle you are promised but also genuine excitement and peril, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is more than the sum of its parts. —Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025

All of it—inhabitants, included—add up to something greater than the sum of its parts. —Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 25 July 2025