summation

[ suh-mey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or process of summing.
2. the result of this; an aggregate or total.
3. a review or recapitulation of previously stated facts or statements, often with a final conclusion or conclusions drawn from them.
4. Law. the final arguments of opposing attorneys before a case goes to the jury.
5. Physiology. the arousal of impulses by a rapid succession of stimuli, carried either by separate sensory neurons spatial summation or by the same sensory neuron temporal summation.

summation

/ sʌˈmeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of determining a sum; addition
2. the result of such an act or process
3. a summary
4. law the concluding statements made by opposing counsel in a case before a court

Derived Forms

• ˈsummative, adjective
• sumˈmational, adjective

Other Words From

• sum·mation·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of summation¹

1750–60; < Medieval Latin summātiōn- (stem of summātiō ), equivalent to summāt ( us ) (past participle of summāre to sum; -ate ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of summation¹

C18: from Medieval Latin summātiō, from summāre to total, from Latin summa sum ¹

Example Sentences

She began by crafting a six-minute summation of the book for Pasadena Civic Ballet in 2021, featuring students at the school.

From Los Angeles Times

For a day and a half, Cohn delivered a summation without notes.

From Slate

It looks like this was no accident or gaffe from Trump, but a summation of his campaign's strategy.

From Salon

Trump’s team did not focus on hammering this weakness, though in his summation, Mr Blanche gave the jury a list of reasons for reasonable doubt.

From BBC

In this high-stakes final endeavor, it appeared that Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass’ summation significantly outmatched that of Todd Blanche, the former president’s chief defense counsel.

From Slate