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.

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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

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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

• retally
  noun
• tallier
  noun
• untallied
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tallies
  plural

Participles

• tallying
  present
• tallied
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tally
  simple
• tallies
  simple
• have tallied
  perfect
• has tallied
  perfect
• am tallying
  progressive
• are tallying
  progressive
• is tallying
  progressive
• have been tallying
  perfect progressive
• has been tallying
  perfect progressive

Past

• tallied
  simple
• had tallied
  perfect
• was tallying
  progressive
• were tallying
  progressive
• had been tallying
  perfect progressive

Future

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

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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

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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

See Examples For:

tally tallies tallied tallying

Instead, major U.S. equity indexes like the S&P 500 are on track to tally a fourth straight year of double-digit returns.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

It remains the highest tally any side has been relegated with across a 38-game Premier League campaign.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

Although there is no official tally of how much church land nationwide could be developed, studies suggest it is vast.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

“Past winner Sam Rockwell is also a lock,” says Dave Karger, “while veteran John Leguizamo is angling for his first nomination. And the always-reliable Edward Norton would increase his tally to five.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Lamar looked relieved to keep his post as tally boy.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

It has resulted in more than 4,000 people, including many senior citizens and Holocaust survivors, being arrested for showing their support for the group, according to campaigners and police tallies.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Since then, some 130 million names have been deleted from final or preliminary electoral rolls, according to tallies from official data compiled by activists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

This tallies with what frontman Liam Gallagher posted on X last month, in response to one fan-site noting they were bookmakers' favourites to headline the festival.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

There were mighty blunders off the field too under Jarmond, including an email that went out to donors that came with an attachment revealing personal information and spending tallies of the department’s biggest donors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Unlike football bowls, there had been no season tallies for the academic teams.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

We looked back in the database, external over the last 20 years and found it has tallied 325 convictions as a result of the fraudulent use of postal ballots.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

Media Matters tallied at least five hours and 18 minutes of network airtime devoted to the unrest between Saturday and Wednesday morning.

From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026

When Hurts dropped back to pass on third down, attempting to salvage the game, he was stripped by linebacker Byron Young, who tallied 2.5 sacks in the game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Since the start of this year, Yemen has tallied nearly 8,000 suspected cholera cases, including 22 deaths, and more than 9,600 dengue cases, including 37 people who had died, according to the WHO.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

He tallied $80,000, then added the cash from his money belt.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

New York immediately pounced, tallying eight runs after Gray exited en route to a 9-2 win that ended Boston’s season.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

In 1862 there was no accurate tallying, but in a state of 400,000 people, as many as 4,000 may have died.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Election observers said that while polling day was largely peaceful, some have raised questions about the vote tallying process.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

As Riches signed off Sunday, he thanked his fans for tallying a million views that day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

I follow Mitch to the kitchen where his mom is tallying up receipts on one of those old calculators with the receipt paper.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

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Related Words

• itemize
• register
• write down

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