amount

1 of 2

verb

ə-ˈmau̇nt 

amounted; amounting; amounts

intransitive verb

1

a

: to be the same in meaning or effect as

acts that amount to treason

b

: to reach in kind or quality : to turn out to be

wanted her son to amount to something [=to be successful]

The changes don't really amount to much. [=are not really substantial or significant]

2

: to reach a total : add up

The bill amounts to $10.

amount

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: the total number or quantity : aggregate

trying to figure the amount of time it will take

b

: the quantity at hand or under consideration

has an enormous amount of energy

2

: the whole effect, significance, or import

3

accounting : a principal sum and the interest on it

Amount vs. Number: Usage Guide

Number is regularly used with count nouns

a large number of mistakes

any number of times

while amount is mainly used with mass nouns.

annual amount of rainfall

a substantial amount of money

The use of amount with count nouns has been frequently criticized; it usually occurs when the number of things is thought of as a mass or collection

glad to furnish any amount of black pebbles

—New Yorker

a substantial amount of film offers

—Lily Tomlin

or when money is involved.

a substantial amount of loans

—E. R. Black

Synonyms

Verb

• add up (to)
• aggregate
• come (to)
• count (up to)
• number
• sum (to or into)
• total

Noun

• measure
• quantity
• quantum
• volume

Examples of amount in a Sentence

Noun

The drug is not being produced in adequate amounts.

What is the amount to be paid?

An amount was finally agreed upon.

The new law limits the amount a candidate can spend.

When he died we found he owed money to the amount of $250,000!

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

New rainfall amounts between a half and three-quarters of an inch possible. —Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 11 Apr. 2024

New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. —Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 10 Apr. 2024

Companies that sell short-term plans must also provide consumers with a disclaimer detailing the limits of services and amounts the plans cover. —Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024

PepsiCo’s business in Europe accounts for about 14 percent of its global revenue, amounting at about $9 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. —Victoria Bisset, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024

New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. —Chris Sims, The Indianapolis Star, 2 Apr. 2024

The dollar amounts vary each year, depending on how much revenue the cap and trade programs generate. —Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2024

New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible. —Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 2 Apr. 2024

In January 2024, a federal judge released the appraisal amounts for the four roads, which totaled about $79,000. —Frank Vaisvilas, Journal Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2024

Noun

The arm cuffs are elastic for a lantern design that looks so stylish, and the slight V-neck shows a subtle amount of skin. —Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 14 Apr. 2024

In addition, a refund amount may differ if the IRS changes your return for other reasons, such as a math error. —The Arizona Republic, 13 Apr. 2024

After that first year, borrowers may have up to 30 years to pay off the loan, though the SBA sets the repayment amount and timeline based on each borrower’s ability to repay. —Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2024

Knoxville, Tennessee; Syracuse, New York; and Orlando, Florida, consume a disproportionate amount of ketchup, Heinz reports. —Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024

New rainfall amounts will be less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts are possible in thunderstorms. —Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 12 Apr. 2024

From barbeque sauce to beef jerky, check out these 9 normally sweet products that scaled back on the amount of grams of sugar (no alternative sweeteners necessary). —Jessie Shafer, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Apr. 2024

For about the same amount of time, DEI has gotten pushback from conservatives and Republicans. —Jolene Almendarez, The Enquirer, 2 Apr. 2024

More worryingly, some users report their accounts being deactivated with large amounts of earnings yet to be paid out. —Will Henshall, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English amounten "to mount (a horse), increase, (of a sum, period of time) add up (to), come (to), be worth, be equal (to)," borrowed from Anglo-French amunter, amounter (continental Old French amonter) "to rise, increase, be worth, add up (to)," derivative of amunt, amount (continental Old French amont) "above, upward," univerbation of the adverbial phrase a mont "upward," literally "to the mountain," from a "to" (going back to Latin ad) + mont "mountain," going back to Latin mont-, mons — more at ad-, mount entry 1

Note: Alternatively Old French and Anglo-French amunter, amonter could be taken as a derivative of munter, monter "to mount" (see mount entry 2) with the prefix a-, usually forming transitive verbs. Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch lists the verb under both the etymon mons and *montare.

Noun

Middle English amunte, borrowed from Anglo-French, noun derivative of amunter "to rise, increase, be worth, add up (to)" — more at amount entry 1

Note: The noun is sparsely attested in Middle English and Anglo-French, and the post-medieval English noun should probably be taken as directly derived from the verb amount entry 1.

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing amount

• amount to
• amount to anything
• amount to much
• amount to something
• amount to the same thing
• no amount of
• not amount to much

Kids Definition

amount

1 of 2 verb

ə-ˈmau̇nt 

1

: to add up

the bill amounted to ten dollars

2

: to be the same in meaning or effect

acts that amount to treason

amount

2 of 2 noun

1

: the total number or quantity : aggregate

the amount to be paid

2

: a given or particular quantity or number

add the same amount to both columns