amount to

amount to idiom
  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 © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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