add S1 W1 /ˌæd/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ addition , ↑ additive ; adjective : additonal, ↑ added ; verb : ↑ add ; adverb : ↑ additionally ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: addere , from ad- 'to' + -dere 'to put' ]
1 . PUT WITH SOMETHING ELSE [transitive] to put something with something else or with a group of other things:
If the mixture seems dry, add water.
add something to something
Do you want to add your name to the list?
Suzuki has added extra doors to its sports off-roader.
Material about recent research has been added to this new edition.
2 . COUNT [intransitive and transitive] if you add numbers or amounts together, you calculate their total ⇨ subtract
add something and something (together)
Add 7 and 5 to make 12.
For tax purposes, your pension and earnings are added together.
add something to something
Add £2.20 to the cost for postage.
3 . INCREASE [intransitive and transitive] to increase the amount or cost of something
add (something) to something
Spell-checking your document adds time to the process.
Sales tax adds to the price.
4 . SAY MORE [transitive] to say more about something that has just been said:
‘And I don’t care what you think,’ she added defiantly.
Is there anything you’d like to add, David?
add that
Everyone will be invited to vote, he said, adding that voting is likely to be via the Web.
I was refused accommodation – not, I hasten to add, on account of my appearance (=used to explain more about what you have just said) .
She was trying to entertain us – unsuccessfully, I might add (=used to comment on what you have just said) .
5 . GIVE A QUALITY [transitive] to give a particular quality to something
add something to something
We’ve added value to the information by organizing it.
add a touch of glamour/class (to something)
Champagne always adds a touch of glamour to the occasion.
Coloured glass can be added for effect.
6 . add(ed) to that/this used to introduce another fact that supports your opinion:
Our hospitals are short of cash. Add to that the long hours doctors work, and you have a recipe for disaster.
7 . add weight to something if something adds weight to an argument, idea etc, it makes it stronger
add weight to the suggestion/idea etc
Recent research adds weight to the theory that the climate is changing.
8 . to add insult to injury to make a bad situation worse for someone who has already been treated badly:
She not only deceived him but, to add insult to injury, allowed him to pay for her meal.
9 . add fuel to the fire/flames to make an argument or disagreement worse:
Rather than providing a solution, their statements merely added fuel to the fire.
add something ↔ in phrasal verb
to include something with something else:
Don’t forget to add in the cost of your time.
add something ↔ on ( also add something on something ) phrasal verb
to include or put on something extra:
proposals to add a penny on income tax
add something ↔ on to
The private chapel was added on to the church much later.
add to something phrasal verb
to make a feeling or quality stronger and more noticeable:
This show will no doubt add to his growing reputation.
add up phrasal verb
1 . to calculate the total of several numbers:
I can add up in my head quite easily.
add something ↔ up
Specialized software adds up the statistics.
2 . not add up
a) if a set of facts does not add up, it does not provide a reasonable explanation for a situation:
He was troubled by a feeling that things just didn’t add up.
b) if sums, numbers etc do not add up, there is a mistake in them:
These figures don’t add up.
3 . it all adds up informal used to say that lots of small amounts gradually make a large total:
There are five of us using the phone so it all adds up.
add up to something phrasal verb
to produce a particular total or result:
Rising prison population and overcrowding add up to a real crisis.