altogether
Americanadverb
-
wholly; entirely; completely; quite.
altogether fitting.
- Synonyms:
- absolutely, totally, utterly
-
with all or everything included.
The debt amounted altogether to twenty dollars.
-
with everything considered; on the whole.
Altogether, I'm glad it's over.
idioms
adverb
-
with everything included
altogether he owed me sixty pounds
-
completely; utterly; totally
he was altogether mad
-
on the whole
altogether it was a very good party
noun
Commonly Confused
The forms altogether and all together, though often indistinguishable in speech, are distinct in meaning. The adverb altogether means “wholly, entirely, completely”: an altogether confused scene. The phrase all together means “in a group”: The children were all together in the kitchen. The word all can be omitted without seriously affecting the meaning: The children were together in the kitchen.
Etymology
Origin of altogether
First recorded in 1125–75; variant of Middle English altogeder; all, together
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He has frequently lashed out at the alliance and mused to aides in recent weeks about quitting the alliance altogether.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
The same insider added that the duo had accepted an offer on the dwelling and gone into escrow, before the deal fell through, prompting their decision to delist the home altogether.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026
That includes people who were kicked out of their housing or disappeared from the system altogether.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
The government had already dropped plans to include second hand cars in the ban, and now it has decided to scrap the policy altogether.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
And it was as if Leah, along with Maria, Elizabeth, and David, had grown up in a different family altogether.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
