1
: an indefinite or specified amount of money
2
: the whole amount : aggregate
3
: the utmost degree : summit
reached the sum of human happiness
4
5
a(1)
: the result of adding numbers
the sum of 5 and 7 is 12
(2)
: the limit of the sum of the first n terms of an infinite series as n increases indefinitely
b
: numbers to be added
broadly
: a problem in arithmetic
c(1)
(2)
Synonyms
Examples of sum in a Sentence
Verb
can sum figures in his head faster than I can punch them into a calculator
Recent Examples on the Web
Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2024
To sum it all up, there are lots of similarities within the two cultures but also lots of contrast.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024
His new Whee, a public art project on the grounds of the Creekside West apartment community in Lakewood, sums it up nicely.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 22 Apr. 2024
To sum it up, cocoa prices have more than doubled in the first three months of the year and more than tripled in the past 12 months.
—Alina Selyukh, NPR, 29 Mar. 2024
The total score for each city is calculated by summing the weighted scores for each of these metric.
—The Courier-Journal, 16 Mar. 2024
To sum it up, employees cannot save, store or hold hot ticket items for later purchases which takes away from customers.
—Tamara Walker, The Enquirer, 26 Jan. 2024
Nothing summed that reality up quite like the divisional round.
—Nate Atkins, The Indianapolis Star, 25 Jan. 2024
To sum it up in a sentence: Resilience is the ability to manage stress in effective ways.
—Rachel Goldsmith Turow, Discover Magazine, 8 Jan. 2024
Kat Bein, SPIN, 26 Apr. 2024
Of that sum, traditional album sales comprise 1.85 million.
—Gary Trust, Billboard, 26 Apr. 2024
In sum, this is a far cry from the team’s output through 10 games last season.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 25 Apr. 2024
One analysis of TikTok’s U.S. market values the app at $100 billion—a sum that rather quickly narrows down the field of buyers.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024
Cicadas can't harm humans, pets, or livestock, but produce an extreme sound when there's a greater sum of them.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 22 Apr. 2024
The $76 million that Save America has spent on legal fees, according to a USA TODAY analysis, is an extraordinary sum that could hamstring Trump's efforts against Biden.
—Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
But the last decade’s low interest rates led to growing sums being poured into tech start-ups.
—Erin Griffith, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
Such a sum would be at least $1.4 billion more than what Rubrik was valued at after a 2021 funding round led by Microsoft.
—María Soledad Davila Calero, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
Verb
Eilish sums things up with four simple words that point to her desire for normalcy and acceptance.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2024
To sum it all up, there are lots of similarities within the two cultures but also lots of contrast.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024
His new Whee, a public art project on the grounds of the Creekside West apartment community in Lakewood, sums it up nicely.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 22 Apr. 2024
To sum it up, cocoa prices have more than doubled in the first three months of the year and more than tripled in the past 12 months.
—Alina Selyukh, NPR, 29 Mar. 2024
The total score for each city is calculated by summing the weighted scores for each of these metric.
—The Courier-Journal, 16 Mar. 2024
To sum it up, employees cannot save, store or hold hot ticket items for later purchases which takes away from customers.
—Tamara Walker, The Enquirer, 26 Jan. 2024
Nothing summed that reality up quite like the divisional round.
—Nate Atkins, The Indianapolis Star, 25 Jan. 2024
To sum it up in a sentence: Resilience is the ability to manage stress in effective ways.
—Rachel Goldsmith Turow, Discover Magazine, 8 Jan. 2024
Noun
Orchestral grandeur and arena-rock posturing mixed with gritty metallic fuzz and sci-fi disco, swirling pieces of all three albums into a sum greater than its parts.
—Kat Bein, SPIN, 26 Apr. 2024
Of that sum, traditional album sales comprise 1.85 million.
—Gary Trust, Billboard, 26 Apr. 2024
In sum, this is a far cry from the team’s output through 10 games last season.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 25 Apr. 2024
One analysis of TikTok’s U.S. market values the app at $100 billion—a sum that rather quickly narrows down the field of buyers.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024
Cicadas can't harm humans, pets, or livestock, but produce an extreme sound when there's a greater sum of them.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 22 Apr. 2024
The $76 million that Save America has spent on legal fees, according to a USA TODAY analysis, is an extraordinary sum that could hamstring Trump's efforts against Biden.
—Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
But the last decade’s low interest rates led to growing sums being poured into tech start-ups.
—Erin Griffith, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
Such a sum would be at least $1.4 billion more than what Rubrik was valued at after a 2021 funding round led by Microsoft.
—María Soledad Davila Calero, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sum.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sum
Cite this Entry
“Sum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sum. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sum
1 of 2 noun1
: an indefinite or specified amount of money
2
: the whole amount
the sum of your experience
3
a
: a summary of the chief points or thoughts
b
: the main point
the sum and substance of an argument
4
a
: the result of adding numbers
the sum of 5 and 7 is 12
b
: a problem in arithmetic
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