sum
noun
uk/sʌm/ us [ C ] MONEY, FINANCE
an amount of money:
Share price slid by 1p to 142p fuelled by concerns that the company might offer too generous a sum for the proposed venture in India.
The sale of Germany's biggest commercial TV operator for an undisclosed sum follows a bidding contest.
Banks may not be prepared to open an account if the sum involved is too small.
large/huge/enormous sums Restrictions have been imposed by the government on the movement of large sums of money out of the country.
a small/modest/substantial sum A substantial sum has been set aside for litigation relating to the construction project.
an additional/cash/final sum The final sum an investor receives from a pension is dependent on the rate of investment growth.
vast/huge/considerable sums
a sum of $8/£2,000/€1.2m, etc. Legislation approved yesterday will raise a much-needed sum of £300,000 for use on the roads.
pay (out)/spend/invest a sum Deposits are non-recoverable cash sums paid just to reserve a property, with a further sum payable when contracts are exchanged.
earn/receive/owe a sum Victims of an explosion at a chemical works are set to receive large sums in compensation.
borrow/lend a sum First-time buyers are having to borrow huge sums to buy a home.
[ S ] (also sum total)
the number or amount that is the result of adding together two or more numbers or amounts:
sum of sth In 2006, the sum of all income for residents of Colorado rose by 6.5%.
[ C ] UK
a calculation that involves adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing numbers:
You need to do your sums before deciding whether you would benefit more from a fixed-rate or a tracker mortgage.
Amid the pressure to get their sums right, many funds have closed to new business.
[ S ] (also sum total)
the whole of something after all the different features or parts of it are considered:
the sum of sth We believe that the sum of our business principles maximizes our chances of success.
more/greater than the sum of its parts
more powerful, effective, etc. as a whole than you would think if you considered the different features or parts that it consists of:
The claimed logic of this latest merger is that the whole will be more than the sum of the parts.
in sum
used at the end of a report or discussion before giving a short description of the main ideas or facts:
We're looking, in sum, for a major player who believes in newspapers as a serious business.
a princely/tidy sum
a large amount of money:
She sold her story to the tabloids for a princely sum.
We have made a tidy sum on our investments.
the princely sum of sth
used in a humorous way to refer to an unexpectedly small amount of money:
The book was first published in the UK in 1972 for the princely sum of 40p.
See also
capital sum
lump sum