1
as in total
a complete amount of something
the sum of human knowledge on that subject
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in summary
a short statement of the main points
the district attorney delivered a sum of the evidence against the accused that was simply staggering
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in height
the highest part or point
he declared that he had reached the sum of joy when his newborn daughter was laid in his arms
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in essence
the central part or aspect of something under consideration
the sum of the issue is: who will pay for this?
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to add
to combine (numbers) into a single sum
can sum figures in his head faster than I can punch them into a calculator
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of sum
Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
Maddie, who fled her home as a teenager after stealing a five-figure sum from her parents, is now sober and raising Caroline alone.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 21 Oct. 2025
Sabrina Weiss, The Dial, 23 Sep. 2025
Dobbins’ impact for the Broncos can be measured in several ways, but one stat maybe sums it up as well as any.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sum
Noun
The government shutdown has focused debate on the vast sum ($136 billion in 2025, as projected by the Congressional Budget Office) that the federal government spends to annually subsidize continually skyrocketing Obamacare health insurance premiums.
—Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
Maddie, who fled her home as a teenager after stealing a five-figure sum from her parents, is now sober and raising Caroline alone.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
Still, according to the investigative media outlet Mongabay, Petroperú has accumulated nearly $100 million in penalties for environmental damage across the country — sums the highly indebted state-company is not likely to be able to pay in the foreseeable future.
—Sabrina Weiss, The Dial, 23 Sep. 2025
Dobbins’ impact for the Broncos can be measured in several ways, but one stat maybe sums it up as well as any.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sum
Noun
-
Anthony Orion Dalton, 17, was sentenced on October 8 to a total of 9 years in prison, with 4 years suspended, after he was found in possession of a firearm on campus in April, according to an October 9 press release from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.—
Christina Coulter,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
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What To Know The Board of Elections shared that a total of 79,409 New Yorkers cast their ballots on the first day of early voting on Saturday, with particularly high voting numbers in the boroughs that Mamdani won in the primary election held on June 24.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Chegg also sued Google in February, arguing that AI summaries of search results have hurt its traffic and sales.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
28 Oct. 2025
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The summaries below were drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division.—
Real-Time News team,
Miami Herald,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Barcelona used a mix of zonal and man-marking but struggled when teams exploited their comparalative lack of height and physicality by using players in motion.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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These ones have a lug sole that offers extra height and more room for cushioned support.—
Isabel Garcia,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
To conserve, after all, is the essence of conservatism.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
-
This is the essence of creator economy.—
Astha Bhardwaj,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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After debuting her costume at her Halloween party that night, Klum added another post showing off the full transformation.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Nov. 2025
-
Say the managers see a software provider on the block at a bargain price, and want to add it to a tech portfolio.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
His lawyers hope immigration judges will consider the totality of his case.—
Maryclaire Dale,
Fortune,
29 Oct. 2025
-
In fact, after investigating for fraud or misrepresentations, Cure only pays out in totality about half of all vehicle theft claims from its customers in Michigan and New Jersey, Poe said.—
JC Reindl,
Freep.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Modern Jacketed Hollow Points Modern Jacketed Hollow Points, or JHPs, aren’t specific cartridges but represent the pinnacle of handgun lethality design.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Oct. 2025
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The clothes were superb, peerlessly realized and immediately desirable; sometimes young and zesty, but most often the pinnacle of adult sophistication.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Evolito itself traces its roots to YASA’s early axial flux technology.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Oct. 2025
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Little Tokyo often steals the spotlight, but Gardena and Torrance’s Japanese American roots run just as deep.—
Mae Hamilton,
Travel + Leisure,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sum. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
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