To give a brief, clear summary of the main points of something.
To quickly explain the most important parts of something in a short way.
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To give a concise summary of the main points of a speech, argument, or discussion.
"To sum up, we need to cut costs, improve marketing, and focus on our core products."
To sum up: physics is concerned with describing the interactions of energy, matter, space, and time.
— Stephen Hawking, 'A Brief History of Time', 1988
(Law) Of a judge: to review the evidence and key legal points for the jury at the end of a trial.
"The judge summed up the case for the jury, reminding them of the key pieces of evidence."
To quickly and accurately assess someone's character or a situation.
"She summed him up in an instant: charming on the surface, but not to be trusted."
To add up (the totals/points) into one complete picture.
To quickly explain the most important parts of something in a short way.
Very common in presentations, debates, legal contexts ('the judge summed up'), and academic writing. Can be used with or without an object. The phrase 'to sum up' is frequently used as a discourse marker to introduce a conclusion or summary.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "sum up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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