amount
n. · v.-
1 a total sum (n.) B1 Intermediatethe total number or value when everything is added together.
the total sum or aggregate reached by addition.
ExampleThe total amount on the bill was much higher than we expected.
ExampleThe final amount owed includes the principal loan, the accumulated interest, and several administrative processing fees.
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2 to add up to (v.) B2 Upper Intermediateto reach a total of a certain number or value.
to add up to a specific total. Intransitive verb usually followed by the preposition 'to'.
ExampleThe small donations from the students amount to over a thousand dollars.
ExampleThe various small expenses incurred during the business trip amount to a substantial sum when viewed over the entire fiscal quarter.
UsageAlways used with the preposition 'to'.
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3 to be the same as (v.) C1 Advanced Formalto be equal to something else in effect or meaning.
to be equivalent to or tantamount to something in effect, value, or significance.
ExampleRefusing to answer the question might amount to an admission of guilt.
ExampleThe minister's refusal to comment on the scandal was seen by the press as something that would amount to a tacit confession.
UsageUsed with the preposition 'to'.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Latin ad Old French a Proto-Indo-European *men- Proto-Indo-European *món-tis Proto-Italic *monts Latin mōns Old French mont Old French amont Old French amonterbor. Middle English amounten English amount From Middle English amounten (“to mount up to, come up to, signify”), from Old French amonter (“to amount to”), from amont, amunt (“uphill, upward”), from the prepositional phrase a mont (“toward or to a mountain or heap”), from Latin ad montem, from ad (“to”) + montem, accusative of mons (“mountain”).
- Nounamount
- Adjectiveparamount