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amount to

 - 3 dictionary results

a⋅mount

  [uh-mount]
Use amount to in a Sentence
–noun
1. the sum total of two or more quantities or sums; aggregate.
2. the sum of the principal and interest of a loan.
3. quantity; measure: a great amount of resistance.
4. the full effect, value, or significance.
–verb (used without object)
5. to total; add (usually fol. by to): The repair bill amounts to $300.
6. to reach, extend, or be equal in number, quantity, effect, etc.; be equivalent (usually fol. by to): It is stated differently but amounts to the same thing.
7. to develop into; become (usually fol. by to): With his intelligence, he should amount to something when he grows up.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME amounten, amunten < AF amo(u)nter, amunter, OF amonter lit., to go up, ascend, prob. a- a- 5 + monter (see mount 1 ); E n. use of v. from early 18th cent.

Usage note:
The traditional distinction between amount and number is that amount is used with mass or uncountable nouns (the amount of paperwork; the amount of energy) and number with countable nouns (a number of songs; a number of days). Although objected to, the use of amount instead of number with countable nouns occurs in both speech and writing, especially when the noun can be considered as a unit or group (the amount of people present; the amount of weapons) or when it refers to money (the amount of dollars paid; the amount of pennies in the till).
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

amount  (v.)
c.1250, "to go up, rise," from O.Fr. amonter, from à mont "upward," lit. "to the mountain," from L. ad- "to" + montem acc. sing. of "mountain." Meaning "to rise in number or quality (so as to reach)" is from c.1300. The noun is 1710, from the verb.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

amount to

  1. Add up, develop into, as in Even though she's careful with her money, her savings don't amount to much, or All parents hope that their children will amount to something. [Mid-1500s]

  2. Be equivalent to, as in Twenty persons won't amount to a good turnout. [Late 1300s] Also see amount to the same thing.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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