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)

totaled, totaling , totalled, totalling .

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)

totaled, totaling , totalled, totalling .

1. to amount (often followed byto ).

total

/ ˈtəʊtəl /

noun

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

adjective

1. complete; absolute

   the evening was a total failure

   a total eclipse

2. (prenominal) being or related to a total

   the total number of passengers

verb

1. 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

Other Word Forms

• quasi-total adjective
• quasi-totally adverb
• retotal verb (used with object)
• supertotal noun
• untotaled adjective
• untotalled adjective
• totally adverb

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

The group has since returned a total of 15 bodies out of the 28 that were still in Gaza, a sluggish pace that has drawn criticism from the Israeli public and hostage families.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Up to £500m could be knocked off the total under plans that regulator Ofgem wants to take effect early next year.

Read more on BBC

The total purchase price was not immediately available.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This year’s total is expected to be in the region of $112 billion.

Read more on Barron's

Susquehanna expects the total capacity of storage products shipped to peak to in the first half of calendar 2027 in what has historically been a very cyclical industry External link.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• absolute 
• comprehensive 
• entire 
• full 
• outright 
• overall 
• sheer 
• unconditional 
• unlimited 
• unrestricted 
• utter 

When To Use

What does total mean?

Total describes the wholeness or entirety of something, like the total amount of cake you ate last night. If you ate the total cake, you ate the entire cake (and might have felt sick afterward!).Total describes the breadth of something either physically or conceptually. For example, your total order describes all the items in your purchase. While if you’re a total success, you are completely successful.A total is the complete amount or sum. The total on your restaurant bill is the entire amount of money you owe for your meal.A total can also be the entirety of something. The total of your book collection would be all the books you own, and the total of your sports equipment is all the equipment you own.Finally, to total is to add up (to total your bill) or to reach an amount, as in The bill totalled up to $56.75.Example: The total on the bill is higher than I expected because I forgot about sales tax.