sum-up

or sum·up

[ suhm-uhp ]

noun

1. the act or result of summing up; summary.

sum up

verb

1. to summarize (feelings, the main points of an argument, etc)

   the judge began to sum up

2. tr to form a quick opinion of

   I summed him up in five minutes

Word History and Origins

Origin of sum-up¹

First recorded in 1890–95; noun use of verb phrase sum up

Idioms and Phrases

Present the substance of, summarize, as in They always sum up the important news in a couple of minutes , or That expletive sums up my feelings about the matter . [Early 1600s]

Example Sentences

His one-line pay-offs at the end of each show, summing up both the fans' mood and the match, may have looked seamless.

From BBC

Their relationship can be summed up by a scene where Trump gifts Cohn some diamond cufflinks for his birthday.

From Salon

One North Carolina man to whom Lemon spoke summed up his reason for voting for Trump this way.

From Salon

The Dodgers played it smartly, if weirdly, on a night when the Yankees’ valiant effort could be summed up in two words.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump’s answer to that question can perhaps be summed up in the three-word catchphrase he’s deployed on the campaign trail: “Drill, baby, drill.”

From Salon

Related Words

• epitomize
• examine
• sum