tally

[ tal-ee ]

/ ˈtæl i /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tally 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.

Nearby words

tallow, tallow tree, tallow wood, tallowy, tallulah, tally, tally clerk, tally sheet, tally-ho, tally-woman, tallyho

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

SYNONYMS FOR tally

1 inventory, count, enumeration.

10 enroll, list.

11 enumerate, calculate.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tally ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tally

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
We keep a tally of school shootings at The Daily Beast, too, using a slightly different methodology.
This Gun Nut Says Most School Shootings Aren’t Real|Brandy Zadrozny|June 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The following day, another school shooting at Arapahoe High School added to our tally.
This Gun Nut Says Most School Shootings Aren’t Real|Brandy Zadrozny|June 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tally one for the superstition list… no more laundry at night.
Dodging Rockets in Afghanistan as the Taliban’s Fighting Season Begins|Nick Willard|May 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

When the smoke cleared, a most precious 43-8 tally remained intact.
The Impossible Super Bowl Score: First 43-8 Football Game in a Century|Evin Demirel|February 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The chirograph was the precursor of the modern indenture, the commonest form of English deeds, though no longer a tally.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5|Various
Study became impossible, and he lost his appetite for what food there was left; but the tally on the stick was kept.
Last of the Great Scouts|Helen Cody Wetmore
The common practice of bakers and milkmen was to keep a tally on the door-post with chalk.
London|Walter Besant
Now examine this pantograph, taken at eight months, and also marked A. Does it tally with the other two?
The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
Again the inning closed without a tally, and Robinson came in for her last turn at bat.
On Your Mark!|Ralph Henry Barbour

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

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