Adjacent Words

Sum definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SUM, n. [L. summa, a sum; L. simul, together; Heb. to set or place.]
1. The aggregate of two or more numbers, magnitudes, quantities or particulars; the amount or whole of any number of individuals or particulars added. The sum of 5 and 7 is 12.
How precious are thy thoughts to me, O God! how great is the sum of them! Psalms 139.
Take the sum of all the congregation. Numbers 1.
[Sum is now applied more generally to numbers, and number to persons.]
2. A quantity of money or currency; any amount indefinitely. I sent him a sum of money, a small sum, or a large sum. I received a large sum in bank notes.
3. Compendium; abridgment; the amount; the substance. This is the sum of all the evidence in the case. This is the sum and substance of all his objections. The sum of all I have said is this.
The phrase, in sum, is obsolete or nearly so.
In sum, the gospel considered as a law, prescribes every virtue to our conduct, and forbids every sin.
4. Highth; completion.
Thus have I told thee all my state, and brought
My story to the sum of earthly bliss.
SUM, v.t. To add particulars into one whole; to collect two or more particular numbers into one number; to cast up; usually followed by up, but it is superfluous. Custom enables a man to sum up a long column of figures with surprising facility and correctness.
The hour doth rather sum up the moments, than divide the day.
1. To bring or collect into a small compass; to comprise in a few words; to condense. He summed up his arguments at the close of his speech, with great force and effect.
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard," in few words,sums up the moral of this fable.
2. In falconry, to have feathers full grown.
With prosperous wing full summ'd. [Unusual.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a quantity of money; "he borrowed a large sum"; "the amount he had in cash was insufficient" [syn: sum, sum of money, amount, amount of money]
2: a quantity obtained by the addition of a group of numbers [syn: sum, amount, total]
3: the final aggregate; "the sum of all our troubles did not equal the misery they suffered" [syn: sum, summation, sum total]
4: the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story" [syn: kernel, substance, core, center, centre, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nub, pith, sum, nitty- gritty]
5: the whole amount [syn: sum, total, totality, aggregate]
6: a set containing all and only the members of two or more given sets; "let C be the union of the sets A and B" [syn: union, sum, join] v
1: be a summary of; "The abstract summarizes the main ideas in the paper" [syn: summarize, summarise, sum, sum up]
2: determine the sum of; "Add all the people in this town to those of the neighboring town" [syn: total, tot, tot up, sum, sum up, summate, tote up, add, add together, tally, add up]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English summe, from Anglo-French sume, somme, from Latin summa, from feminine of summus highest; akin to Latin super over — more at over Date: 14th century 1. an indefinite or specified amount of money 2. the whole amount ; aggregate 3. the utmost degree ; summit <reached the sum of human happiness> 4. a. a summary of the chief points or thoughts ; summation <the sum of this criticism follows — C. W. Hendel> b. gist <the sum and substance of an argument> 5. a. (1) the result of adding numbers <the sum of 5 and 7 is 12> (2) the limit of the sum of the first n terms of an infinite series as n increases indefinitely b. numbers to be added; broadly a problem in arithmetic c. (1) disjunction 2 (2) union 2d • summability noun • summable adjective II. verb (summed; summing) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to calculate the sum of ; total 2. summarize intransitive verb to reach a sum ; amount

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 the total amount resulting from the addition of two or more items, facts, ideas, feelings, etc. (the sum of two and three is five; the sum of their objections is this). 2 a particular amount of money (paid a large sum for it). 3 a an arithmetical problem (could not work out the sum). b (esp. pl.) colloq. arithmetic work, esp. at an elementary level (was good at sums). --v.tr. (summed, summing) find the sum of. Phrases and idioms: in sum in brief. summing-up 1 a review of evidence and a direction given by a judge to a jury. 2 a recapitulation of the main points of an argument, case, etc. sum total = sense 1 of n. sum up 1 (esp. of a judge) recapitulate or review the evidence in a case etc. 2 form or express an idea of the character of (a person, situation, etc.). 3 collect into or express as a total or whole. Etymology: ME f. OF summe, somme f. L summa main part, fem. of summus highest

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sum Sum, n. [OE. summe, somme, OF. sume, some, F. somme, L. summa, fr. summus highest, a superlative from sub under. See Sub-, and cf. Supreme.] 1. The aggregate of two or more numbers, magnitudes, quantities, or particulars; the amount or whole of any number of individuals or particulars added together; as, the sum of 5 and 7 is 12. Take ye the sum of all the congregation. --Num. i. 2. Note: Sum is now commonly applied to an aggregate of numbers, and number to an aggregate of persons or things. 2. A quantity of money or currency; any amount, indefinitely; as, a sum of money; a small sum, or a large sum. ``The sum of forty pound.'' --Chaucer. With a great sum obtained I this freedom. --Acts xxii. 28. 3. The principal points or thoughts when viewed together; the amount; the substance; compendium; as, this is the sum of all the evidence in the case; this is the sum and substance of his objections. 4. Height; completion; utmost degree. Thus have I told thee all my state, and brought My story to the sum of earthly bliss. --Milton. 5. (Arith.) A problem to be solved, or an example to be wrought out. --Macaulay. A sum in arithmetic wherein a flaw discovered at a particular point is ipso facto fatal to the whole. --Gladstone. A large sheet of paper . . . covered with long sums. --Dickens. Algebraic sum, as distinguished from arithmetical sum, the aggregate of two or more numbers or quantities taken with regard to their signs, as + or -, according to the rules of addition in algebra; thus, the algebraic sum of -2, 8, and -1 is 5. In sum, in short; in brief. [Obs.] ``In sum, the gospel . . . prescribes every virtue to our conduct, and forbids every sin.'' --Rogers.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sum Sum, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Summed; p. pr. & vb. n. Summing.] [Cf. F. sommer, LL. summare.] 1. To bring together into one whole; to collect into one amount; to cast up, as a column of figures; to ascertain the totality of; -- usually with up. The mind doth value every moment, and then the hour doth rather sum up the moments, than divide the day. --Bacon. 2. To bring or collect into a small compass; to comprise in a few words; to condense; -- usually with up. ``Go to the ant, thou sluggard,'' in few words sums up the moral of this fable. --L'Estrange. He sums their virtues in himself alone. --Dryden. 3. (Falconry) To have (the feathers) full grown; to furnish with complete, or full-grown, plumage. But feathered soon and fledge They summed their pens [wings]. --Milton. Summing up, a compendium or abridgment; a recapitulation; a r['e]sum['e]; a summary. Syn: To cast up; collect; comprise; condense; comprehend; compute.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(sums, summing, summed) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. 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. N-COUNT: oft N of n 2. A sum is a simple calculation in arithmetic. I can't do my sums. N-COUNT 3. 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. N-SING: the N of n 4. The sum of something is all of it. 'Public opinion' is only the sum of the views of thousands of people like yourself... N-SING: the N of n 5. see also lump sum 6. 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. PHRASE: v-link PHR

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Aggregate amount, total, totality, the whole, sum total, gross amount. 2. Quantity of money, any amount. 3. Summary, compendium, amount, substance, sum and substance. 4. Height, completion, summit, acme. 5. Question (in arithmetic), problem. II. v. a. 1. Add, add together, sum up, cast up, compute, calculate, reckon. 2. Condense, summarize, sum up, state in brief, collect, comprehend, epitomize, put in a nutshell.

Moby Thesaurus

account, add, add up, addend, affective meaning, aggregate, all, amount, amount of money, amplitude, batch, be-all and end-all, bearing, body, box score, budget, bulk, bunch, cast, cast up, chunk, cipher up, clutch, coloring, compute, condense, connotation, consequence, core, count, count up, deal, denotation, detail, difference, digest, dose, drift, effect, entirety, entity, epitome, essence, extension, extent, figure, figure up, foot, foot up, force, gist, gob, grammatical meaning, grand total, gross, gross amount, group, heap, hunk, idea, impact, implication, import, integral, integrate, intension, inventory, itemize, large amount, lexical meaning, literal meaning, lot, lump sum, magnitude, main point, mass, matter, meaning, measure, measurement, meat, mess, number, numbers, nutshell, overtone, pack, parcel, part, pertinence, pith, plus, plus sign, point, portion, practical consequence, product, purport, quantity, quantum, range of meaning, ration, real meaning, recap, recapitulate, recapitulation, recite, reckon up, reckoning, recount, reference, referent, rehearse, relate, relation, relevance, resume, round sum, run-through, rundown, scope, score, score up, semantic cluster, semantic field, sense, significance, signification, significatum, signifie, small amount, span of meaning, spirit, strength, structural meaning, structure, substance, subtotal, sum and substance, sum total, sum up, summarize, summary, summate, summation, summing-up, symbolic meaning, synopsize, system, tale, tally, tally up, tenor, the amount, the bottom line, the story, the whole story, tot, tot up, total, total up, totality, totality of associations, tote, tote up, transferred meaning, unadorned meaning, undertone, value, whole, whole amount, x number