sum something up
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To summarize or describe something briefly
Literally: to add parts together
Register: neutral
Examples
She summed up the meeting in a few sentences
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Everyday learner phrase (CEFR B2); level cross-referenced from published learner lists. Definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “sum something up” mean?
To summarize or describe something briefly Literally: to add parts together
Is “sum something up” formal or informal?
sum something up is generally neutral.