Idiom: add up
Meaning
add up (to something):
- to signify or represent (something)
- to imply or suggest (something)
- to result in something
- to accumulate
- to aggregate into a collection
This is often used in the negative: (something) doesn't add up. It suggests that something is not right or the result is not correct.
Examples
— Studying just a few new words a day will add up to a huge vocabulary in just a year.
— If you want to lose weight then write down everything you eat. It's amazing how snacks add up when you start tracking the calories you eat.
— Rodger Federer made just a few mistakes during the match but they added up to a loss in the tiebreak in the final set.
— Start very slowly and then increase the time you run each weekend by just 5 minutes. You'll see how quickly your endurance adds up.
— I stopped drinking Starbucks every morning before work and the savings really adds up quickly.
— My son failed two classes despite going to the library everyday last semester so something did not add up. My daughter later told me he was just sleeping in the sofa chairs.
— This does not add up. My boyfriend said he wanted to stay home this evening but Sandra said she just saw him as she was leaving the sports bar.
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