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sum

SUM/sʌm/

Pluralsums, sumy

Verbsums, summing, summed

12 meanings of sum

Practice

  1. 1
    amount of moneynouncountable
    An amount of money of a particular size.

    She paid a large sum for the old car.

    They save a small sum every month.

    Similaramount

    Note
  2. 2
    totalnouncountable
    The total you get when you add numbers or things together.

    Like putting all your coins into one pile to see how much you have.

    The sum of three and four is seven.

    We added all the prices to find the sum.

    Similartotal, totality

    Note
  3. 3
    put brieflyverbtransitive
    To give a short account of the main points of something.

    Can you sum the whole story in a few sentences?

    She summed the long debate in a single line.

    Similarsummarize

    Note
  4. 4
    noun
    A short account that brings together the main points of something.

    The sum of the evidence pointed to one conclusion.

    Taken together, the sum of their findings filled a single page.

    Similarsummary, overview, outline, digest, synopsis

    Note
  5. 5
    add upverbtransitive
    To add numbers or amounts together to get a total.

    Like counting all your coins together to see the total.

    Sum these numbers to find the total.

    We need to sum all the costs first.

    Similaradd, total, tally

    Oppositesubtract

    Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–6, 8, 11–12

From Latin summa, meaning "the highest point" or "sum," from summus, "highest." It came into English through French.

Meanings 9–10

Borrowed from Central Asian words like Kazakh and Uzbek som, all meaning "pure," used for old coins made of pure gold.

Meaning 7

From Mongolian сум (sum), from Manchu niru ("a large arrow, militia company, district"), ultimately from a Proto-Mongolic word meaning "arrow."