From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsumsum1 /sʌm/ ●●○ W2 AWL noun [countable] 1 moneyMONEY an amount of money He owes me a large sum of money.sum of the sum of £4,000large/substantial/considerable etc sum Bill wants to spend a large sum on modernizing the farm.small/modest/trifling etc sum We should be happy to buy it for a modest sum. → lump sum, → princely sum at princely(1)2 → the sum of something3 → greater/more/better etc than the sum of its parts4 calculationHM a simple calculation by adding, multiplying, dividing etc, especially one done by children at school5 → do your sums6 → in sum → sum totalCOLLOCATIONSphrasesa sum of moneyWe urge people not to keep large sums of money in their houses.adjectivesa large/considerable/substantial sumHe lost a substantial sum of money on the deal.a huge/enormous/vast sumThe company has invested huge sums in research.a five-figure/six-figure/seven-figure etc sum (=an amount in the ten thousands, hundred thousands etc )The newspaper paid a six-figure sum for the photograph of the princess.a small sumEach year the inhabitants had to pay a small sum for the use of the pasture.a modest sum (=not a very big amount of money)She had paid a modest sum for the paintings.an undisclosed sum (=an amount that is being kept secret)He sold the company for an undisclosed sum.a tidy sum informal (=a large amount of money)I had managed to save a tidy sum.the total sumThe total sum lost is believed to be around £2 million.the princely sum of ... (=a large amount – often used humorously to mean a small amount)They were surviving on the princely sum of £50 a week.For the princely sum of $8 million you too could live in a mansion like this.
Examples from the Corpus
sum• a lump-sum payment• But when all had been settled, it seemed that Phil could expect a sum of only about six thousand pounds.• This procedure applies to actions brought for the recovery of a sum, in either contract or tort, not exceeding £1000.• The apartment cost over $25,000, which was an enormous sum in those days.• Stars like Chaplin earned $2000 a week, which was an enormous sum in those days.• We had to do some really hard sums today.• Apple has spent huge sums in its drive to penetrate new markets.• You can receive your bonus in monthly instalments, or as a lump sum.• If it is less than £1.05 a week, it will be paid as a lump sum once a year.• Instead of paying him a regular pension, they gave him a lump sum when he retired.• A lump sum would be paid to a trade association or similar body.• Take your pension in lump sum rather than in monthly checks.• She and the other workers received the princely sum of $14 for the evening's work.• A purse containing a small sum of money was found at Guildhall Square on March 20.• She left a small sum of money to her two granddaughters.• My uncle left me a small sum of money when he died.• She puts away small sums of money when she can afford to.• He offered to purchase the estate for the sum of $80,000.• They are asking $40 for the new software, almost twice the sum it costs when bought via the Internet.• It'll be quicker if I use a calculator for these sums.• This sum will be doubled up to £80,000, if both husband and wife die as a result of the same accident.• The case was settled for an undisclosed sum last year.sum of money• Increase or decrease a sum of money by a given percentage.• The firm had just paid him a fantastic sum of money.• In response, Red offered the companies huge sums of money, which Blue then had to top.• Particularly if a large sum of money is involved, it could pay you to get the advice of a pension consultant.• The possession of a requisite sum of money entitles the individual to purchase goods and services.• They stole his watch and a small sum of money.• The field officer, after all, has the power to make a discharger spend a substantial sum of money.• As you would expect, a project of this kind requires substantial sums of money to set up.sumsum2 ●○○ AWL verb (summed, summing) → sum up→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
sum• Three words to sum up the feelings of the Hereford fans on Saturday.• It is possible to sum up the Pauline arguments in terms of two directives.• Ask the task orientated member to regularly sum up where the meeting has reached.From Longman Business Dictionarysumsum1 /sʌm/ noun [countable]1an amount of moneyLarge sums of money are spent on advertising campaigns.The company was sold for a sum estimated at $2.3 billion.2the sum ofACCOUNTING the total produced when you add two or more numbers togetherThe sum of the loans was nearly 360 billion yen.3British English a simple calculation done by adding, multiplying, dividing etcYou will have to do your sums (=calculate all the amounts involved), because interest-free credit may not be the cheapest way to buy. → see also sum of the digitssumsum2 verb (summed, summing) → sum up→ See Verb tableOrigin sum1 (1200-1300) Old French summe, from Latin summa, from summus “highest” 