tally

[ tal-ee ]

/ ˈtæl i /

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See synonyms for: tally / tallied on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural tal·lies.

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

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.

anything on which a score or account is kept.

a notch or mark made on or in a tally.

a number or group of items recorded.

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.

a number of objects serving as a unit of computation.

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

anything corresponding to another thing as a counterpart or duplicate.

verb (used with object), tal·lied, tal·ly·ing.

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

to count or reckon up.

to furnish with a tally or identifying label.

to cause to correspond or agree.

verb (used without object), tal·lied, tal·ly·ing.

to correspond, as one part of a tally with the other; accord or agree: Does his story tally with hers?

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

OTHER WORDS FOR tally

1 inventory, count, enumeration.

10 enroll, list.

11 enumerate, calculate.

See synonyms for tally on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM tally

tal·li·er, nounre·tal·ly, noun, plural re·tal·lies, verb, re·tal·lied, re·tal·ly·ing.un·tal·lied, adjective

Words nearby tally

tall poppy, tall poppy syndrome, tall ship, tall tale, Tallulah, tally, tally clerk, tallyho, tallyman, Tallys, tally sheet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tally in a sentence

It’s a sickeningly high number, but it’s also the first time the tally has dropped below 1 million since March.
S&P 500 hits a new record, erasing last of pandemic losses|Verne Kopytoff|August 18, 2020|Fortune
Alexander Lukashenko, the 26-year-and-counting president of Belarus, won his country’s recent elections with a final tally of 80 percent of the vote.
Misery in Minsk|Eugene Robinson|August 18, 2020|Ozy
Lyon is reasonably well organized in defense, but it is outperforming its expected goals against tally so far, suggesting that something’s got to give eventually.
After Manchester City’s Big Loss, Who’s The Favorite To Win The Champions League?|Terrence Doyle|August 18, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
While there’s no official tally, it’s reasonable to say that millions of algorithmically proctored tests are happening every month around the world.
Software that monitors students during tests perpetuates inequality and violates their privacy|Amy Nordrum|August 7, 2020|MIT Technology Review

Scores joined him, and the tally of militants in Kashmir doubled from 150 to 300.
Is Kashmir’s Militancy Dead?|Charu Kasturi|August 6, 2020|Ozy
But right now, if we were to put out an aggregated tally for 2014, it would be way off the mark.
ISIS Fighters Are Killing Faster than Statisticians Can Count|Peter Schwartzstein|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They examined every “poll list, tally sheet, certificate of result, and, where necessary, each ballot.”
Honoring The Late John Doar, A Nearly Forgotten Hero Of The Civil Rights Era|Gary May|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Together, the missiles and airstrikes cost at least $79 million to pull off, according to a Daily Beast tally.
First U.S. Stealth Jet Attack on Syria Cost More Than Indian Mission to Mars|Dave Majumdar|September 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Though a recount is likely, Grothman had a 215-vote lead in the initial tally.
Wisconsin Nominates Wingnut to Congress|Ben Jacobs|August 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When that show ended, did you think that would be it for your trophy tally?
Allison Janney’s Incredible ‘Double O’ and That ‘Masters of Sex’ Love Scene|Jason Lynch|July 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He keeps the tally, and he says that never were so many altars as to-day, and the fire-carriage serves them well.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
Vigilant priests were always ready to extinguish systems which could not be made to tally with their interests.
Superstition In All Ages (1732)|Jean Meslier
Then Crozier called with a great, cheery voice—what Mona used to call his tally-ho voice.
You Never Know Your Luck, Complete|Gilbert Parker
But, alas, how many Presidents they have to have in these Spanish republics to round out the tally with Destiny!
Gardens of the Caribbees, v. 1/2|Ida May Hill Starr
I'm on to run a tally for most things; but—how much do you make it?
Colonial Born|G. Firth Scott

British Dictionary definitions for tally

tally

/ (ˈtælɪ) /

verb -lies, -lying or -lied

(intr) to correspond one with the otherthe two stories don't tally

(tr) to supply with an identifying tag

(intr) to keep score

(tr) obsolete to record or mark

noun plural -lies

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

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

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

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

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

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

Australian and NZ the total number of sheep shorn by one shearer in a specified period of time

Derived forms of tally

tallier, noun

Word Origin for tally

C15: from Medieval Latin tālea, from Latin: a stick; related to Latin tālus heel

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tally

OTHER WORDS FOR tally

Origin of tally

OTHER WORDS FROM tally

Words nearby tally

Words related to tally

How to use tally in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tally

Derived forms of tally

Word Origin for tally