sum

sum¹ W2S3 [sʌm] n

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1¦(money)¦

2 the sum of something

3 greater/more/better etc than the sum of its parts

4¦(calculation)¦

5 do your sums

6 in sum

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: summe, from Latin summa, from summus 'highest']

1.) ¦(MONEY)¦

an amount of money

▪ He owes me a large sum of money .

sum of

▪ the sum of £4000

large/substantial/considerable etc sum

▪ Bill wants to spend a large sum on modernizing the farm.

small/modest/trifling etc sum

for a large/small etc sum

▪ We should be happy to buy it for a modest sum.

→↑lump sum

→princely sum at ↑princely

2.) the sum of sth

the total produced when you add two or more numbers or amounts together

▪ You will have to pay the sum of the two sets of costs.

3.) greater/more/better etc than the sum of its parts

having a quality or effectiveness as a group that you would not expect from the quality of each member

▪ The team is greater than the sum of its parts.

4.) ¦(CALCULATION)¦

a simple calculation by adding, multiplying, dividing etc, especially one done by children at school

5.) do your sums

informal BrE to calculate whether you have enough money to do something

▪ Do your sums first before you decide how much to spend.

6.) in sum

formal used before a statement that gives the main information about something in a few simple words

▪ In sum, soul music is important to the record industry.

→↑sum total

sum ²

sum² v past tense and past participle summed present participle summing

sum up phr v

1.) to give the main information in a report, speech etc in a short statement at the end

= ↑summarize

▪ Gerald will open the debate and I will sum up.

to sum up

▪ To sum up, for a healthy heart you must take regular exercise and stop smoking.

sum sth<=>up

▪ In your final paragraph, sum up your argument.

2.) when a judge sums up or sums up the case at the end of a ↑trial, he or she explains the main facts of the case

→↑summing-up

3.) sum sth<=>up

to describe something using only a few words

▪ The city's problem can be summed up in three words: too many people.

4.) sum sth<=>up

to show the most typical qualities of someone or something

▪ That image sums up the whole film.

5.) sum sb/sth<=>up

to form a judgment or opinion about someone or something

▪ Pat summed up the situation at a glance.

6.) that (about) sums it up

spoken used to say that a description of a situation is correct

▪ 'So you want us to help you change but you don't believe change is possible?' 'That about sums it up.'