tally

American  

[tal-ee] / ˈtæl i /

noun

tallies plural

1. an account or reckoning; a record of debit and credit, of the score of a game, or the like.

   Synonyms:

   enumeration, count, inventory

2. Also called tally stick.  a stick of wood with notches cut to indicate the amount of a debt or payment, often split lengthwise across the notches, the debtor retaining one piece and the creditor the other.

3. anything on which a score or account is kept.

4. a notch or mark made on or in a tally.

5. a number or group of items recorded.

6. a mark made to register a certain number of items, as four consecutive vertical lines with a diagonal line through them to indicate a group of five.

7. a number of objects serving as a unit of computation.

8. a ticket, label, or mark used as a means of identification, classification, etc.

9. anything corresponding to another thing as a counterpart or duplicate.

---

verb (used with object)

tallies, present (3rd person singular) tallied, past participle, past tallying present participle

1. to mark or enter on a tally; register; record.

   Synonyms:

   list, enroll

2. to count or reckon up.

   Synonyms:

   calculate, enumerate

3. to furnish with a tally or identifying label.

4. to cause to correspond or agree.

verb (used without object)

tallies, present (3rd person singular) tallied, past participle, past tallying present participle

1. to correspond, as one part of a tally with the other; accord or agree.

   Does his story tally with hers?

2. to score a point or make a goal, as in a game.

tally British  

/ ˈtælɪ /

verb

1. (intr) to correspond one with the other

   the two stories don't tally

2. (tr) to supply with an identifying tag

3. (intr) to keep score

4. obsolete (tr) to record or mark

---

noun

1. any record of debit, credit, the score in a game, etc

2. a ticket, label, or mark, used as a means of identification, classification, etc

3. a counterpart or duplicate of something, such as the counterfoil of a cheque

4. a stick used (esp formerly) as a record of the amount of a debt according to the notches cut in it

5. a notch or mark cut in or made on such a stick

6. a mark or number of marks used to represent a certain number in counting

7. the total number of sheep shorn by one shearer in a specified period of time

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• untallied
  adjective
• tallier
  noun
• retally
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• tallies
  plural

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have tallied
  perfect
• has tallied
  perfect 3rd person singular
• has been tallying
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are tallying
  progressive
• am tallying
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been tallying
  perfect progressive
• tallies
  singular 3rd person
• is tallying
  progressive 3rd person singular
• tallying
  participle

Past

• had tallied
  perfect
• had been tallying
  perfect progressive
• tallied
  simple
• was tallying
  progressive singular
• were tallying
  progressive plural
• tallied
  participle

Future

• will tally
  simple
• will have tallied
  perfect
• will have been tallying
  perfect progressive
• will be tallying
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of tally

1275–1325; (noun) Middle English taly < Medieval Latin talia, variant of Latin tālea rod, cutting, literally, heel-piece, derivative of tālus heel; (v.) late Middle English talyen, derivative of the noun

Explanation

A tally is a continuous count of something, like the number of words in a document, or the number of favors your best friend owes you. To tally is to add up, like keeping the score of a game. The word tally has to do with counting. It comes from the Latin word for “stick” because people used to keep a tally by marking a stick. Tally can be the total, or the act of adding it all up. If you count the bikers riding by, your count is a tally. As a verb, tally is used for keeping score. Two friends playing basketball need to tally the points after each basket so they don't lose track.

Example Sentences

Peru's presidential election is stuck in a statistical tie, according to an early tally by the pollster Ipsos, echoing previous elections that have dragged on for days or even weeks.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

County election officials are required to provide the secretary of state with an updated tally of unprocessed ballots starting two days after election day and continuing every day until the count is complete.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

With around two-thirds of votes counted, Trump-backed Republican Steve Hilton leads the tally in the state's gubernatorial primary, followed closely by Democrat Xavier Becerra, with another Democrat, Tom Steyer, a few percentage points behind.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

American Car Center and US Auto Sales have also gone bankrupt since 2022, when inflation and rates were both rising, according to a tally from Moody’s Ratings.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026

But I do make note of another confident for Ms. Rochambeau’s general tally.

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden

Related Words

• itemize
• register
• write down