INDEX:
1. to summarize something
2. a statement in which facts or ideas are summarized
3. what you say when you are going to summarize something
4. to describe something in a general way, giving only the main points
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ SHORT
↑ WRITE
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1. to summarize something
▷ summarize also summarise British /ˈsʌməraɪz/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to make a short statement giving only the main information, but not the details, of a report, plan, event etc :
▪ Your final paragraph should summarize the main points of your essay.
▪ The interview was summarized on the front page of the newspaper.
▪ The report was detailed and thorough; it didn’t just summarize.
▷ sum up /ˌsʌm ˈʌp/ [intransitive/transitive phrasal verb]
to summarize something clearly and in very few words, especially at the end of a speech, report, or meeting :
▪ The Chairman’s job was to introduce the speakers and to sum up at the end of the debate.
sum up something
▪ The last section of the report sums up the arguments on both sides.
▪ In these few words the president summed up the feelings of the whole nation.
sum something up
▪ I couldn’t have summed it up better.
▷ recap/give (somebody) a recap /riːˈkæp, ˌgɪv somebody ə ˈriːkæp/ [intransitive/transitive verb or intransitive/transitive phrasal verb]
to make a short spoken statement summarizing what has already been said in order to remind someone of it :
▪ If you missed the previous episode, Alistair Cooke starts off each week by recapping the story so far.
▪ To recap the legend: William Tell shot an apple off his son’s head.
recap/give (sb) a recap of
▪ At the end of the article, Kohn gives a recap of the proposals.
▷ give (somebody) a rundown /ˌgɪv somebody ə ˈrʌndaʊn/ [verb phrase]
to give someone a short, usually spoken report, especially about a series of events, including all the important facts :
▪ Before we go to work on this, you’d better give us a complete rundown.
give (sb) a rundown on
▪ Baseball cards give a rundown on each player’s statistics.
give (sb) a rundown of
▪ Can you give me a rundown of what was said at yesterday’s meeting?
2. a statement in which facts or ideas are summarized
▷ summary /ˈsʌməri/ [countable noun]
a short statement that gives only the main ideas and facts of something that has been written or said :
▪ ‘The progress we hoped for has clearly not developed,’ the council said in the summary to its final report.
▪ In its report on the speech, the radio carried a brief summary, but did not broadcast the whole thing.
summary of
▪ Write a two-page summary of the results of your research.
▪ I’ve made a summary of the main points in the Secretary General’s speech.
news summary
British a short programme reporting the main events in the news
▪ There will be a news summary at 9.05.
▷ outline /ˈaʊtlaɪn/ [countable noun usually singular]
a short statement, especially a written one, that summarizes a statement or piece of writing and contains only the most important points :
▪ Write a short outline covering the main points before you start on your essay.
outline of
▪ The book begins with an outline of the events that led to the First World War.
broad outline
a very general outline
▪ In this paper I will give a broad outline of the research we have been doing.
in outline
giving an outline
▪ This chapter shows, in outline, the way money circulates through the economy.
▷ overview /ˈəʊvəʳvjuː/ [countable noun usually singular]
a short statement that summarizes a whole subject, situation, or problem in a general way :
▪ Before we can consider the details we need to have an overview of the whole situation.
overview of
▪ The aim of the first chapter is to provide a general overview of the subjects that will be covered.
▷ rundown /ˈrʌndaʊn/ [countable noun usually singular]
a report, especially a spoken one, that summarizes a set of events or a situation quickly and simply :
rundown of
▪ I want a complete rundown of what’s been happening while I’ve been away.
▪ What follows is a rundown of all the ways one company tries to market its products.
rundown on
▪ Here is a rundown on the outdoor activities available in the resort.
▷ precis /ˈpreɪsiːǁpreɪˈsiː/ [countable noun]
a short piece of writing, especially one written by a student as a formal language exercise, intended to summarize the main points of a longer piece of writing :
precis of
▪ I want you to write a precis of the whole passage in not more than 80 words.
▷ synopsis /sɪˈnɒpsɪs, sɪˈnɒpsəsǁ-ˈnɑː-/ [countable noun]
a short piece of writing that summarizes the story of a film, play, or book :
▪ I read the synopsis and decided that it would make an interesting film.
synopsis of
▪ Please write a synopsis of the story, not more than 100 words long.
3. what you say when you are going to summarize something
▷ to sum up/to summarize/in summary /tə ˌsʌm ˈʌp, tə ˈsʌməraɪz, ɪn ˈsʌməri/ []
use this at the beginning of a sentence when you are going to summarize what has been said, especially at the end of a speech :
▪ To sum up, the jury found the wrong person guilty.
▪ To summarize, Bremer is saying ‘you just have to trust me.’
▪ In summary, don’t waste your money on this book.
▷ in a nutshell /ɪn ə ˈnʌtʃel/ [adverb]
use this when you are summarizing a situation or idea in a few words :
▪ In a nutshell, the state government is expected to be $2 million in debt by the end of the year.
▪ A study of women at work says, in a nutshell, that opportunities have opened up dramatically.
put it in a nutshell
▪ Bob put it in a nutshell when he said the problems was essentially a lack of communication.
▷ in short /ɪn ˈʃɔːʳt/ [adverb]
use this to say the most important point about a situation in a few words :
▪ In short, the report says that more money should be spent on education.
▪ In short, the better a parent you are during the first 18 years, the better friends you’ll be later.
▷ to cut a long story short especially British /to make a long story short American /tə kʌt ə ˌlɒŋ ˌstɔːri ˈʃɔːʳt, tə meɪk ə ˌlɒŋ ˌstɔːri ˈʃɔːʳtǁ-ˌlɔːŋ-/ [adverb]
say this when you want to finish a story quickly and only tell people the most important parts :
▪ To make a long story short, Stephen had a fight with Paul and ended up in the hospital.
▪ I was a waitress in a bar and he was one of my customers, and that, to cut a long story short, is how we met.
4. to describe something in a general way, giving only the main points
▷ outline /ˈaʊtlaɪn/ [transitive verb]
to describe something such as an idea, plan, or report by giving the main points of it, especially in writing :
▪ Each member of staff received a letter outlining their responsibilities and duties.
▪ He declined to provide a copy of the report but agreed to outline its contents.
▷ sketch out /ˌsketʃ ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to describe something such as a plan or an idea in a general way without giving any details or being very exact :
▪ In his letter, Marx sketched out his ideas for a new work on the history of capitalism in Britain.
▪ Could you sketch out for us exactly how you see this plan developing?