- sum
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 amount of moneyADJECTIVE▪ considerable, generous, good, great, handsome, hefty, high, large, not inconsiderable (esp. BrE), princely (ironic), significant, sizeable, 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 (esp. BrE), enormous, exorbitant, huge, magnificent (esp. BrE), massive, record, staggering, vast▪£200 was an astronomical sum of money in 1547.
▪He joined the team two years ago for a record sum.
▪ five-figure, six-figure, etc. (esp. BrE)▪ modest, nominal, reasonable, small, token, trifling▪The charity pays a nominal sum to lease the premises.
▪ derisory, paltry▪ average▪ net▪ round (esp. BrE)▪€10 000 is a good round sum.
▪ full (esp. BrE), overall, total▪ agreed (esp. BrE), fixed▪ undisclosed, unspecified▪ annual, monthly, etc.▪ regular▪ guaranteed (esp. BrE)▪ capital, cash (esp. BrE), lump▪My wife would receive a guaranteed lump sum in the event of my death.
▪ tax-free (esp. BrE)VERB + SUM▪ borrow, earn, fetch (esp. BrE), raise, recover (esp. BrE)▪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 (esp. BrE), contribute, give sb, offer sb, pay (sb), repay (esp. BrE)▪The judge awarded them an undisclosed six-figure sum in damages.
▪How can we repay such a large sum?
▪ invest, spend▪ cost▪a project that cost vast sums of public money
▪ charge (sb)▪ agree, agree on▪We eventually agreed a sum and I paid him.
SUM + VERB▪ be due, be payable (both esp. BrE)▪The landlord has the right to recover any sums payable under this lease
▪ be equal to sth, be equivalent to sth▪The gangsters offered him a sum equivalent to a whole year's earnings.
▪ exceed sthPHRASES▪ a sum of money2 calculationADJECTIVE▪ difficult, easyVERB + SUM▪ do▪I did a quick sum to work out how much it would cost.
PHRASES▪ get your sums right/wrong (BrE)▪The company got its sums wrong when estimating how many customers it would attract.
3 totalVERB + SUM▪ calculate, find, work out▪Calculate the sum of the following figures.
PREPOSITION▪ sum of▪The sum of two and five is seven.
PHRASES▪ greater, less, more, etc. than the sum of its/the parts▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}The team is greater than the sum of its parts.
verbPHRASAL VERBsum sth upADVERB▪ aptly, neatly, nicely, succinctly, well▪ perfectly▪ just about, pretty much▪‘So we're stuck in this place with no food?’ ‘That just about sums it up.’
VERB + SUM UP▪ seem to▪ attempt to, try to▪The report attempts to sum up recent economic trends.
▪ be difficult to, be hard to▪The appeal of this city is hard to sum up.
PREPOSITION▪ as▪She summed it up as ‘the most brilliant lecture I've ever attended’.
PHRASES▪ can be summed up as▪Her whole philosophy can be summed up as ‘so what?’.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
