sum
♦ sum /s'ʌm/ (sums summing summed)
1 [N-COUNT] oft N of n
A sum of money is an amount of money.
Large sums of money were lost...
Even the relatively modest sum of £50,000 now seems beyond his reach.
2 [N-COUNT]
A sum is a simple calculation in arithmetic.
I can't do my sums.
3 [N-SING] the N of n
In mathematics, the sum of two numbers is the number that is obtained when they are added together.
The sum of all the angles of a triangle is 180 degrees.
4 [N-SING] the N of n
The sum of something is all of it.
`Public opinion' is only the sum of the views of thousands of people like yourself...
5
see also lump sum
6 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that something is more than the sum of its parts or greater than the sum of its parts, you mean that it is better than you would expect from the individual parts, because the way they combine adds a different quality.
As individual members' solo careers have proved, each band was greater than the sum of its parts.lump sum (lump sums)
[N-COUNT]
A lump sum is an amount of money that is paid as a large amount on a single occasion rather than as smaller amounts on several separate occasions.
...a tax-free lump sum of £50,000 at retirement age.sum to|tal
[N-SING] usu the N of n
The sum total of a number of things is all the things added or considered together. You often use this expression to indicate that you are disappointed because the total amount is rather small.
That small room contained the sum total of the family's possessions...
= sumsum up
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you sum something up, you describe it as briefly as possible.
One voter in Brasilia summed up the mood-`Politicians have lost credibility,' he complained...
Obree summed his weekend up in one word: `Disastrous.'
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron)
If something sums a person or situation up, it represents their most typical characteristics.
`I love my wife, my horse and my dog,' he said, and that summed him up...
Sadly, the feud sums up the relationship between Lord Bath and the man who succeeds him.
= epitomize
3 [PHRASAL VERB] V P
If you sum up after a speech or at the end of a piece of writing, you briefly state the main points again. When a judge sums up after a trial, he reminds the jury of the evidence and the main arguments of the case they have heard.
When the judge summed up, it was clear he wanted a guilty verdict...
4
see also summing-up
1 [N-COUNT] oft N of n
A sum of money is an amount of money.
Large sums of money were lost...
Even the relatively modest sum of £50,000 now seems beyond his reach.
2 [N-COUNT]
A sum is a simple calculation in arithmetic.
I can't do my sums.
3 [N-SING] the N of n
In mathematics, the sum of two numbers is the number that is obtained when they are added together.
The sum of all the angles of a triangle is 180 degrees.
4 [N-SING] the N of n
The sum of something is all of it.
`Public opinion' is only the sum of the views of thousands of people like yourself...
5
see also lump sum
6 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that something is more than the sum of its parts or greater than the sum of its parts, you mean that it is better than you would expect from the individual parts, because the way they combine adds a different quality.
As individual members' solo careers have proved, each band was greater than the sum of its parts.lump sum (lump sums)
[N-COUNT]
A lump sum is an amount of money that is paid as a large amount on a single occasion rather than as smaller amounts on several separate occasions.
...a tax-free lump sum of £50,000 at retirement age.sum to|tal
[N-SING] usu the N of n
The sum total of a number of things is all the things added or considered together. You often use this expression to indicate that you are disappointed because the total amount is rather small.
That small room contained the sum total of the family's possessions...
= sumsum up
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you sum something up, you describe it as briefly as possible.
One voter in Brasilia summed up the mood-`Politicians have lost credibility,' he complained...
Obree summed his weekend up in one word: `Disastrous.'
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron)
If something sums a person or situation up, it represents their most typical characteristics.
`I love my wife, my horse and my dog,' he said, and that summed him up...
Sadly, the feud sums up the relationship between Lord Bath and the man who succeeds him.
= epitomize
3 [PHRASAL VERB] V P
If you sum up after a speech or at the end of a piece of writing, you briefly state the main points again. When a judge sums up after a trial, he reminds the jury of the evidence and the main arguments of the case they have heard.
When the judge summed up, it was clear he wanted a guilty verdict...
4
see also summing-up