I. a ‧ mount 1 S1 W1 /əˈmaʊnt/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
1 . a quantity of something such as time, money, or a substance
amount of
They spend equal amounts of time in California and New York.
a considerable/large/enormous etc amount
a considerable amount of money
a small/tiny etc amount
a tiny amount of dirt
Please pay the full amount (=of money) by the end of the month.
2 . used to talk about how much there is of a feeling or quality
a large/considerable etc amount of something
Her case has attracted an enormous amount of public sympathy.
a certain/fair amount of something
Dina encountered a fair amount of envy among her colleagues.
3 . no amount of something can/will etc do something used to say that something has no effect:
No amount of persuasion could make her change her mind.
4 . any amount of something used to say that there is plenty of something, and no more is needed:
The school has any amount of resources and equipment.
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THESAURUS
▪ amount how much of something there is:
Try to reduce the amount of fat in your diet.
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a tiny amount of poison
▪ quantity a particular amount of food, liquid, or another substance that can be measured – used especially in written descriptions and instructions:
Make sure that you add the right quantity of milk.
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They buy the wood in large quantities.
▪ volume the amount of something such as business activity or traffic, especially when this is large or increasing:
The volume of traffic on our roads has risen sharply.
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the huge volume of trade with China
▪ level the exact amount of something at one time, which can go up or down at other times:
They measured the level of alcohol in his blood.
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There is a high level of unemployment.
▪ proportion the amount of something, compared with the whole amount that exists:
the proportion of road accidents caused by drunk drivers
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A high proportion of the students were from poor families.
▪ quota a maximum amount of something that can be produced, sold, brought into a country etc:
import quotas on Japanese cars
▪ yield /jiːld/ the amount of something that is produced, especially crops:
this year’s cotton yield
II. amount 2 BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: amonter , from amont 'upward' , from mont 'mountain' ]
amount to something phrasal verb
1 . if figures, sums etc amount to a particular total, they equal that total when they are added together:
Time lost through illness amounted to 1,357 working days.
2 . if an attitude, remark, situation etc amounts to something, it has the same effect:
The court’s decision amounts to a not guilty verdict.
Ultimately, their ideas amount to the same thing.
3 . not amount to much/anything/a great deal etc to not be important, valuable, or successful:
Her academic achievements don’t amount to much.
Jim’s never going to amount to much.