sum total

noun

|Updated on: 5 Jun 2018

Examples: sum total in a Sentence

Definition of sum total

1 : a total arrived at through the counting of sums

2 : total result : totality

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Examples of sum total in a Sentence

in this case the sum total of physical evidence that a crime has been committed wouldn't fill a thimble

Recent Examples of sum total from the Web

The sum total, however, is poor-to-nonexistent performance year round which, when pondered, is quite an achievement in architectural buffoonery.

— ken goe, OregonLive.com, "Tinker Hatfield blasts Hayward Field design adopted by the University of Oregon," 1 June 2018
The Hubble constant reflects the sum total of all the stuff in the universe and the forces acting on it—weighing in on whether gravity or the void will ultimately win this intergalactic tug-of-war.

— lee billings, Scientific American, "Cosmic Conflict: Diverging Data on Universe’s Expansion Polarizes Scientists," 16 May 2018
If that had been the case last summer, perhaps there would not have been this slide back to .500, which remains the sum total of these past two seasons and this largely stagnant roster.

— ira winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Winderman: If Heat are content, are they also in denial? | Commentary," 28 Apr. 2018
In addition to the sum total $2 payout, the city of Philadelphia will launch a $200,000 grant that will go toward pilot program for high school students who aspire to be entrepreneurs, The Washington Post reported.

— araceli cruz, Teen Vogue, "Following Starbucks Arrests, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson Convinced Philadelphia to Set Up Charity Program," 2 May 2018
But with the Expansion, Callisto is the sum total of the reporting process, and that makes the next steps much more nebulous.

— lux alptraum, The Verge, "Can Callisto transform how Silicon Valley deals with sexual harassment?," 17 Apr. 2018
And that was the sum total of sustenance that was available to their family.

— eugene scott, Washington Post, "Pence’s tone toward refugees may be softer than Trump’s but that’s where the difference ends," 16 Apr. 2018
His briefers tried to reassure him that the sum total of European expulsions was roughly the same as the U.S. number.

— chicagotribune.com, "Trump, a reluctant hawk, has battled his top aides on Russia and lost," 16 Apr. 2018
His briefers tried to reassure him that the sum total of European expulsions was roughly the same as the U.S. number.

— author: greg jaffe, john hudson, philip rucker, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump, a reluctant hawk, has battled his top aides on Russia and lost," 16 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sum total.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of sum total

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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sum total Synonyms

Phrases

grand total, the whole bit, the whole kit and caboodle, the whole nine yards, the whole shebang;

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