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Glite Dictionary
to foot up

to foot up

1 8.4
Add numbers in a column to find the total
  • phrasal verb
  • Jargon
translation icon : sumar
  • The accountant spent the afternoon footing up the numbers from last month's sales records.

Examples

  • Before submitting the report, make sure to foot up all the expenses to get an accurate total.

  • After each project, it's important to foot up the financials to assess profitability.

  • "An hour and we'll be home; you can put your feet up," Parker said, aware that he was using his father's voice.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • It's not polite to put your feet up on other people's furniture.

    The Other Wife (2016)

  • And in an hour you'll have your feet up.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • He put his feet up on the desk.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • I put my feet up on the desk and thought about Fast Freddy's words to the wise.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • She sat in one armchair with her feet up on the other.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Freddy pulls a foot up from the asphalt pit and kicks Jacob back a good

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I slouched in the padded swivel chair, put my bare feet up on the desk, and ruminated on why the poet had asked if I liked him.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

to add
vsto foot up
934 1.0

Put numbers or amounts together to find their total

describes the accounting column addition process rather than basic arithmetic
to come to
vsto foot up
276 2.9

Add up to a certain total

describes the bookkeeping act of adding columns not the resulting amount
to sum
vsto foot up
168 1.0

To add two or more numbers to find their total

focuses on the columnar bookkeeping process rather than general totaling
to add up
vsto foot up
118 1.0

Find the total of several numbers

applies to column totals in accounting rather than any sum
to add together
vsto foot up
7 1.0

To calculate the total of two or more numbers by putting them together

is specifically the bookkeeping column method not just simple addition
to sum up
vsto foot up
1 2.1

Add several numbers to find the total

is used for neat accounting addition in columns specifically
to foot
vsto foot up
  • Specialized
1 9.1

Add up numbers in a column to find the total

is used more broadly for adding lists not only accounting columns
to tote up
vsto foot up
  • UK
1 4.3

Add numbers to find the total

is more technical and tied to column addition in accounting
to tot
vsto foot up
  • UK
1 8.8

To add numbers together to find the total

is specifically the columnar totaling method used in accounts
to tot up
vsto foot up
  • UK
5.1

To add a group of numbers to find the total

is the standard accounting column method rather than general calculation

Surface Forms

foot up infinitive
footed up past
footed up past participle
footing up present participle
foots up third person singular

Morphology

foot + up

Given the provided constituent meanings, 'foot' = to total and the particle 'up' = to complete/increase, the composite meaning 'to add up a column of numbers' is directly and predictably derived. This construction follows common verb + up compositional patterns (equivalent to 'total up' or 'add up'), so a learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Foot up may come from old bookkeeping. When people added a column of numbers, they wrote a small mark called the foot at the bottom and then added the column to get the 'total', so to foot up came to mean 'to add up' or 'find the total'.