sum

[[t]sʌ̱m[/t]]

♦♦♦

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. You often use sum in this way to indicate that you are disappointed because the extent of something is rather small, or because it is not very good.

To date, the sum of my gardening experience had been futile efforts to rid the flower beds of grass...

The sum of evidence points to the crime resting on them...

Has it, in its 30 years, added much to the sum of human happiness?

Syn:

sum total

5) → See also lump sum

6) PHRASE: PHR with cl You use in sum to introduce a statement that briefly describes a situation. [FORMAL]

In sum, the two countries are now true economic partners...

It is a situation, in sum, devoid of logic.

7) 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.

Phrasal Verbs:

- sum up