sum
[noun]
Synonyms: total, aggregate, amount, tally, whole

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Related Words: body, bulk, mass, structure

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. sum¹ S2 W2 AC /sʌm/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: 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 £4,000
large/substantial/considerable etc sum
Bill wants to spend a large sum on modernizing the farm.
small/modest/trifling etc sum
We should be happy to buy it for a modest sum ⇒ lump sum, ⇒ princely sum at princely(1)

2. the sum of something 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 British English 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

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. sum² AC verb (past tense and past participle summed, present participle summing)
sum up phrasal verb

1. to give the main information in a report, speech etc in a short statement at the end Synonym : 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 something ↔ 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 something ↔ up to describe something using only a few words Synonym : summarize:
The city’s problem can be summed up in three words: too many people.

4. sum something ↔ up to show the most typical qualities of someone or something:
That image sums up the whole film.

5. sum somebody/something ↔ up to form a judgment or opinion about someone or something Synonym : assess:
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.’

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

sum
noun
I. amount of money
ADJ. considerable, generous, good, handsome, hefty, high, large, not inconsiderable, princely (ironic), significant, substantial, tidy (informal) It seemed an absurdly high sum to pay for a coat. For his first book he received the princely sum of $400. The team has raised substantial sums for local charities.
astronomical, colossal, enormous, exorbitant, huge, magnificent, massive, record, staggering, vast £200 was an astronomical sum of money in 1547. He joined the club two years ago for a record sum.
five-figure, six-figure, etc. | small, modest, nominal, reasonable, token, trifling The charity pays a nominal sum to lease the premises.
derisory, paltry | average | net | round $10,000 is a good round sum.
full, overall, total | agreed, fixed | undisclosed, unspecified | annual, monthly, etc. | regular | guaranteed | capital, cash, lump My wife would receive a guaranteed lump sum in the event of my death.
tax-free
VERB + SUM borrow, earn, fetch, raise, recover Some of the paintings should fetch a tidy sum at today's auction. You will have to go to court to recover these sums.
get, receive | award sb, contribute, give sb, grant sb, lend sb, offer sb, pay (sb), repay The judge awarded them an undisclosed six-figure sum in damages.
invest, spend | cost a project that cost vast sums of public money
charge (sb), fine sb | agree (on) We eventually agreed a sum and I gave him a cheque.
SUM + VERB be due, be payable The landlord has the right to recover any sums payable under this lease
be equal/equivalent to sth The gangsters offered him a sum equivalent to a whole year's earnings.
exceed sth
PHRASES a sum of money

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

sum
II. calculation
ADJ. difficult, easy
VERB + SUM do, find the answer to I did a quick sum to work out how much it would cost.
PHRASES get your sums right/wrong The company got its sums wrong when estimating how many customers it would attract.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

sum
III. amount got by adding numbers
VERB + SUM calculate, find, work out Calculate the sum of the following figures.
PREP. ~ of The sum of two and five is seven.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

sum
verb PHRASAL VERBS sum sth up
ADV. aptly, neatly, nicely, succinctly, well | perfectly | just about ‘So we're stuck in this place, with no food, no heat, no light and no prospect of anyone coming to rescue us?’ ‘That just about sums it up.’
VERB + SUM seem to | attempt to, try to attempting to sum up recent economic trends
be difficult to, be hard to The appeal of this charming little town is hard to sum up.
PREP. as She summed it up as ‘the most brilliant lecture I've ever attended’.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

sum

a sum of money
We urge people not to keep large sums of money in their houses.
a large/considerable/substantial sum
He lost a substantial sum of money on the deal.
a huge/enormous/vast sum
The company has invested huge sums in research.
a five-figure/six-figure/seven-figure etc sum (=an amount in the ten thousands, hundred thousands etc )
The newspaper paid a six-figure sum for the photograph of the princess.
a small sum
Each year the inhabitants had to pay a small sum for the use of the pasture.
a modest sum (=not a very big amount of money)
She had paid a modest sum for the paintings.
an undisclosed sum (=an amount that is being kept secret)
He sold the company for an undisclosed sum.
a tidy sum informal (=a large amount of money)
I had managed to save a tidy sum.
the total sum
The total sum lost is believed to be around £2 million.
the princely sum of ... (=a large amount – often used humorously to mean a small amount)
They were surviving on the princely sum of £50 a week.
For the princely sum of $8 million you too could live in a mansion like this.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲