sul|tana /sʌltɑː nə, -tæ n-/ (sultanas ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Sultanas are dried white grapes. [BRIT ]
sul|try /sʌ ltri/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Sultry weather is hot and damp. [WRITTEN ] □ The climax came one sultry August evening.
2 ADJ Someone who is sultry is attractive in a way that suggests hidden passion. [WRITTEN ] □ …a dark-haired sultry woman.
sum ◆◇◇ /sʌ m/ (sums , summing , summed )
1 N‑COUNT A sum of money is an amount of money. □ [+ of ] Large sums of money were lost. □ [+ of ] Even the relatively modest sum of £50,000 now seems beyond his reach.
2 N‑COUNT A sum is a simple calculation in arithmetic. □ I can't do my sums.
3 N‑SING In mathematics, the sum of two numbers is the number that is obtained when they are added together. □ [+ of ] The sum of all the angles of a triangle is 180 degrees.
4 N‑SING The sum of something is all of it. □ [+ of ] 'Public opinion' is only the sum of the views of thousands of people like yourself.
5 → see also lump sum
6 PHRASE If you say that something is more than the sum of its parts or greater than the sum of its parts , you mean that it is better than you would expect from the individual parts, because the way they combine adds a different quality. □ As individual members' solo careers have proved, each band was greater than the sum of its parts.
▸ sum up
1 PHRASAL VERB If you sum something up , you describe it as briefly as possible. □ [V P n] One voter summed up the mood–'Politicians have lost credibility,' he complained. □ [V n P ] Obree summed his weekend up in one word: 'Disastrous.'
2 PHRASAL VERB If something sums a person or situation up , it represents their most typical characteristics. □ [V n P ] 'I love my wife, my horse and my dog,' he said, and that summed him up. □ [V P n] Sadly, the feud sums up the relationship between the two men.
3 PHRASAL VERB If you sum up after a speech or at the end of a piece of writing, you briefly state the main points again. When a judge sums up after a trial, he reminds the jury of the evidence and the main arguments of the case they have heard. □ [V P ] When the judge summed up, it was clear he wanted a guilty verdict.
4 → see also summing-up COLLOCATIONS sum NOUN 1
adjective + sum : princely, substantial, tiny, vast; fixed, six-figure, undisclosed
verb + sum : invest, pay, spend; borrow, owe; raise, receive SYNONYMS sum NOUN
1
amount: He needs that amount of money to survive.
quantity: …a small quantity of water.
volume: Senior officials will be discussing how the volume of sales might be reduced.
3
totaclass="underline" The companies have a total of 1,776 employees.
aggregate: …society viewed as an aggregate of individuals.
tally: The final tally was 817 votes for her and 731 for Mr Lee.
sum|ma|rize /sʌ məra I z/ (summarizes , summarizing , summarized ) in BRIT, also use summarise VERB If you summarize something, you give a summary of it. □ [V n] Table 3.1 summarizes the information given above. □ [be V -ed prep/adv] Basically, the article can be summarized in three sentences. □ [V ] To summarise, this is a clever approach to a common problem. [Also V with quote]
sum|mary /sʌ məri/ (summaries )
1 N‑COUNT A summary of something is a short account of it, which gives the main points but not the details. □ [+ of ] What follows is a brief summary of the process. □ [+ of ] Here's a summary of the day's news. ● PHRASE You use in summary to indicate that what you are about to say is a summary of what has just been said. □ In summary, it is my opinion that this complete treatment process was very successful.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Summary actions are done without delay, often when something else should have been done first or done instead. [FORMAL ] □ It says torture and summary execution are common.
sum|mat /sʌ mət/ Summat is a British dialect form of the word 'something'. □ Are we going to write a story or summat?
sum|ma|tion /sʌme I ʃ ə n/ (summations ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] A summation is a summary of what someone has said or done. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] Her introduction is a model of fairness, a lively summation of Irish history.
sum|mer ◆◆◇ /sʌ mə r / (summers )
1 N‑VAR Summer is the season between spring and autumn when the weather is usually warm or hot. □ In summer I like to go sailing in Long Island. □ I escaped the heatwave in London earlier this summer and flew to Cork. □ It was a perfect summer's day. □ …in the summer of 1987. □ …the summer holidays. □ He used to spend childhood summers with his grandparents.
2 → see also high summer , Indian summer
su m|mer camp (summer camps ) N‑COUNT In the United States, a summer camp is a place in the country where parents can pay to send their children during the school summer holidays. The children staying there can take part in many outdoor and social activities.
su m|mer house (summer houses ) also summerhouse