sum of parts
- For the meaning of "sum of parts" in Wiktionary's jargon, see Wiktionary:Criteria for inclusion#Idiomaticity.
English
Noun
sum of parts (plural sums of parts)
- Alternative form of sum of its parts
- The whole is greater than the sum of parts.
- Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see sum, of, parts.
- The expression "brown leaf" is a sum of parts, since it has no idiomatic meaning: no meaning beyond "brown" + "leaf".