add up

verb

added up; adding up; adds up

intransitive verb

1

a

: to come to the expected total

the bill doesn't add up

b

: to form an intelligible pattern : make sense

her story just doesn't add up

2

a

: amount sense 1b

—used with to

the play adds up to a lot of laughs

b

: to amount to a lot

just a little each time, but it all adds up

transitive verb

: to form an opinion of

added him up at a glance

Synonyms

• amount (to)
• come (to)
• correspond (to)
• emulate
• equal

Examples of add up in a Sentence

whether we take the 4:00 train or the 4:15 bus, it adds up to the same thing: they both get us back too late

even if we pool all our money, it won't add up to enough to rent a beach house for a week

Recent Examples on the Web

By the end of 2019, measles cases that year added up to the largest annual tally since endemic spread of the virus was declared eliminated in 2000. —Faris Tanyos, CBS News, 2 May 2025

Amazon's 27 spacecraft added up to become the heaviest payload ever launched by an Atlas V in 102 missions. —Daniel Larlham, ArsTechnica, 2 May 2025

Though an Etsy shop is relatively easy and affordable to set up initially, transaction fees can add up. —Christina Pérez, Vogue, 1 May 2025

This adds up to smoother transitions and the potential for video playback without stutter. —New Atlas, 30 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2

Rhymes for add up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

add up

verb

1

a

: to come to a total and especially the expected total

b

: to make sense

her story just doesn't add up

2

: to amount to a lot

just a little each time, but it all adds up