sum up

sum up

To give a brief and accurate summary, description, assessment, or representation of something; to summarize. A noun or pronoun can be used between "sum" and "up." To sum up, we need to reduce our expenditures and target new markets in order to grow. I feel like the book sums up everything I've been feeling since we moved. I can sum the project up in just three words: "Waste of time."

See also: sum, up

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

sum (something) up

to give a summary of something. I would like to sum this lecture up by listing the main points I have covered. It is time for me to sum up. She summed up the president's speech in three sentences.

See also: sum, up

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

sum up

Present the substance of, summarize, as in They always sum up the important news in a couple of minutes, or That expletive sums up my feelings about the matter. [Early 1600s]

See also: sum, up

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sum up

v.

1. To present the substance of something in a condensed form; summarize something: At the end of the radio program, they sum up the day's news. Here's what I learned—I'll sum it up for you. At the end of the lecture, the professor summed up.

2. To describe or assess something concisely: This poem sums up my feelings perfectly.

3. To add some set of numbers together: The teacher challenged the students to sum up the numbers from 1 to 100 as fast as possible. I wrote down all of our expenses for the week and summed them up.

4. To calculate something, especially by addition: We need to sum up our total costs for this trip. I'm sure this answer is correct—I summed it up myself.

See also: sum, up

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.