Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To give a brief statement of the main points of something longer or more detailed.
   • To be or constitute a concise version of a longer text or speech.

Usage

• The verb "summarise" is used when you need to condense information, such as a report, article, book, or speech, into its most essential elements.
• It is often followed by the object being condensed (e.g., summarise a book, summarise the findings).
• It can be used in both active ("She will summarise the article") and passive ("The report was summarised in one page") constructions.

Examples

• Active voice:
  • Please summarise the main arguments of the chapter.
  • The manager asked her to summarise the meeting's conclusions.
• Passive voice:
  • The complex legal document was summarised for the jury.
  • His entire career can be summarised in three key achievements.

Advanced Usage

• "To summarise" (as a discourse marker): Used to introduce a concluding statement.
  • To summarise, we need to increase investment and improve communication.
• "Summarise as": To describe something concisely in a specific way.
  • His philosophy can be summarised as "live and let live".

Variants and Related Words

• Summary (n): A brief statement or account of the main points.
  • She wrote a one-page summary of the proposal.
• Summarily (adv): In a summary manner; without delay or formality.
  • The officer dealt with the matter summarily.
• Summarisation/Summarization (n): The process of summarising.
  • Automatic text summarisation is a complex computing task.

Synonyms

• Condense: To make something more concise.
• Outline: To give the main points or general idea.
• Recapitulate: To summarise and restate the main points.

Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Summarise" itself does not commonly form phrasal verbs. The action of summarising is often expressed with the verb alone or with phrases like "sum up".)

Related Idioms

• To sum up: This is a near-identical phrase often used interchangeably with "to summarise," especially to introduce a conclusion.
  • To sum up, the project was a success despite the challenges.

Verb

1. give a summary (of)
   • he summed up his results
   • I will now summarize
2. be a summary of
   • The abstract summarizes the main ideas in the paper