How to Use greater/better/more than the sum of its parts in a Sentence

greater/better/more than the sum of its parts

idiom
  • So that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 28 June 2023
  • The whole was so much greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 9 Dec. 2024
  • The whole isn’t always greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 30 Sep. 2024
  • But as with the best stories, the truth is more than the sum of its parts.
    — Anna Washenko, Ars Technica, 20 June 2024
  • The axis of the sanctioned will be more than the sum of its parts.
    — Hanna Notte, Foreign Affairs, 6 Oct. 2023
  • Now this is a recipe truly greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Michelle Huneven, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2023
  • The benefits of this swarm are greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
  • This is the first of the group’s projects to sound greater than the sum of its parts, to feel singular.
    — Sheldon Pearce, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2021
  • The filling becomes much greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Chandler Boese, Kansas City Star, 18 Jan. 2024
  • But the magic of Calabash is so much greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Baz Dreisinger, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
  • He’s always punched above his weight and made a team more than the sum of its parts.
    — Liam Tharme, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
  • This is a clear example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 May 2025
  • And those virtues and talents combine to form a whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Csaba Csere, Car and Driver, 8 Apr. 2023
  • Topped with a layer of chocolate ganache, this crust is much more than the sum of its parts.
    — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 18 Dec. 2024
  • Sonically, though, the duo is greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2022
  • Used as a guesthouse, just as his mom had hoped, the cottage is now much more than the sum of its parts.
    — Amanda Sims Clifford, House Beautiful, 26 Jan. 2023
  • But food, like other aspects of culture, is more than the sum of its parts.
    — Emiene Wright, Charlotte Observer, 30 Jan. 2024
  • After all, just like any team, a company's brand is worth more than the sum of its parts.
    — Aimee Meester, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2023
  • The works in the show involve actual art and actual science, and the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
    — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 20 Sep. 2024
  • Its power comes from a shared sense of community that is more than the sum of its parts.
    — J. Clara Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Mar. 2023
  • There are times and places when apparel is more than fashion, when the total is more than the sum of its parts.
    — Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
  • The value of a single, unwieldy enterprise may be greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Leave room for chè chuối, a dessert of tapioca, coconut and banana that is more than the sum of its parts ($11).
    — Chelsea Conaboy, New York Times, 20 June 2024
  • Of course, a great hotel is greater than the sum of its parts, no matter how exquisite those parts may be.
    — Peter Terzian, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2021
  • Here, each voice works to create something greater than the sum of its parts, which is rare for supergroups.
    — Bobby Olivier, SPIN, 31 Mar. 2023
  • All those things happened together and the look became greater than the sum of its parts somehow.
    — Monica Corcoran Harel, Variety, 9 Mar. 2023
  • But Apple is betting that its AI offering will be greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 10 June 2024
  • Every aspect of the sandwich is perfection, adding up to something that's even greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Arika Herron, Axios, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Here’s more: As a whole can be greater than the sum of its parts, so a complete poem is richer than the sum of all the things that can be said about its passages.
    — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 31 Jan. 2025
  • Sometimes the presence of other humans can turn a work into something greater than the sum of its parts.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 May 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'greater/better/more than the sum of its parts.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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