amount
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.the total number or value when everything is added together.
n.the total sum or aggregate reached by addition.
Simple“The total amount on the bill was much higher than we expected.”
In context“The final amount owed includes the principal loan, the accumulated interest, and several administrative processing fees.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to reach a total of a certain number or value.
v.to add up to a specific total. Intransitive verb usually followed by the preposition 'to'.
Simple“The small donations from the students amount to over a thousand dollars.”
In context“The 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'.
- 03 C1 Advanced
v.to be equal to something else in effect or meaning.
v.to be equivalent to or tantamount to something in effect, value, or significance.
Simple“Refusing to answer the question might amount to an admission of guilt.”
In context“The 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'.
Synonyms
amount vs number — Number is for things you can count individually; amount is for bulk quantities or mass.
Usage amount of time · amount of energy · amount of money
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”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.