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

Friction point: Those costs add up — a three-hour date night, for example, could set a family back close to $100, without counting the registration fee — and the company's employment rules prohibit their sitters from taking side jobs with families who try to go around the service. —Torey Van Oot, Axios, 15 Sep. 2024

This will add up to a total 250 basis points of cuts in 10 moves across 25 months, Fitch noted, adding that the median cut from peak rates to bottom in previous Fed easing cycles going up to the mid-1950s was 470 basis points, with a median duration of 8 months. —Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 13 Sep. 2024

All of that adds up to 27 treats any beauty lover will devour on sight. —Sarah Han, Allure, 13 Sep. 2024

These add up to significant reductions in drag and weight, along with smaller engines to boot. —New Atlas, 12 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2

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