total

[ toht-l ]

adjective

1. constituting or comprising the whole; entire; whole:

   the total expenditure.

   Synonyms: complete

2. of or relating to the whole of something:

   the total effect of a play.

3. complete in extent or degree; absolute; unqualified; utter:

   a total failure.

4. involving all aspects, elements, participants, resources, etc.; unqualified; all-out:

   total war.

noun

1. the total amount; sum; aggregate:

   a total of $200.

   Synonyms: totality, gross

2. the whole; an entirety:

   the impressive total of Mozart's achievement.

   Synonyms: totality, gross

verb (used with object)

, to·taled, to·tal·ing or (especially British) to·talled, to·tal·ling.

1. to bring to a total; add up.
2. to reach a total of; amount to.
3. Slang. to wreck or demolish completely:

   He totaled his new car in the accident.

verb (used without object)

, to·taled, to·tal·ing or (especially British) to·talled, to·tal·ling.

1. to amount (often followed by to ).

total

/ ˈtəʊtəl /

noun

1. the whole, esp regarded as the complete sum of a number of parts

adjective

1. complete; absolute

   a total eclipse

   the evening was a total failure

2. prenominal being or related to a total

   the total number of passengers

verb

1. whenintr, sometimes foll by to to amount

   to total six pounds

2. tr to add up

   to total a list of prices

3. slang.
   tr to kill or badly injure (someone)
4. tr to damage (a vehicle) beyond repair

Derived Forms

• ˈtotally, adverb

Other Words From

• quasi-total adjective
• quasi-total·ly adverb
• re·total verb (used with object) retotaled retotaling or (especially British) retotalled retotalling noun
• super·total noun
• un·totaled adjective
• un·totalled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of total¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (adjective), from Medieval Latin tōtālis , equivalent to Latin tōt(us) “entire” + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of total¹

C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin tōtālis, from Latin tōtus all

Synonym Study

See whole.

Example Sentences

Certainly, she seems to command near-total devotion among her clients.

From The Daily Beast

Total oil production figures include crude oil, natural gas liquids, and other liquid energy products.

From The Daily Beast

Former Gov. Jimmy Carter entered the 1976 Presidential campaign as a more or less total unknown.

From The Daily Beast

He advocates a secular regime with a total separation of religion form the government.

From The Daily Beast

More than 750 prisoners have been detained in total over the past 13 years, and about 2,100 people work there.

From The Daily Beast

Besides these, twenty thousand Indians are under the care of secular priests—making a total of two hundred and five thousand.

From Project Gutenberg

Quantitative estimation of the total sulphates yields little of clinical value.

From Project Gutenberg

The total fresh troops amounted to about 500 men of the 73rd Native Regiment and Spanish cazadores.

From Project Gutenberg

Rich natives and Chinese lost large sums of money, the total of which cannot be ascertained.

From Project Gutenberg

Almost one-quarter of the total supply printed has been placed in circulation.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• add
• amount to
• come to
• comprise
• consist of
• equal
• pile up
• reach
• yield