tally

[tal-ee]

noun

plural

tallies 

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

   Synonyms: enumeration, count, inventory

2. 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.

3. anything on which a score or account is kept.

4. a notch or mark made on or in a tally.

5. a number or group of items recorded.

6. 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.

7. a number of objects serving as a unit of computation.

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

9. anything corresponding to another thing as a counterpart or duplicate.

verb (used with object)

tallied, tallying 

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

   Synonyms: list, enroll

2. to count or reckon up.

   Synonyms: calculate, enumerate

3. to furnish with a tally or identifying label.

4. to cause to correspond or agree.

verb (used without object)

tallied, tallying 

1. to correspond, as one part of a tally with the other; accord or agree.

   Does his story tally with hers?

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

tally

/ ˈtælɪ /

verb

1. (intr) to correspond one with the other

   the two stories don't tally

2. (tr) to supply with an identifying tag

3. (intr) to keep score

4. obsolete,  (tr) to record or mark

noun

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. the total number of sheep shorn by one shearer in a specified period of time

Other Word Forms

• tallier noun
• retally noun
• untallied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tally¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tally¹

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

Example Sentences

Images of sheets and blackboards tallying the results have circulated on social media, fuelling victory claims among both Biya and Tchiroma's camps.

Read more on Barron's

Though it does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its tally, its figures are seen as reliable and have been used by the U.N. and the Israeli military.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Manchester City's Haaland is the benchmark for Premier League strikers, with Saturday's hat-trick against Israel taking his tally to 21 goals from 12 games for Norway and his club this season.

Read more on BBC

The war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Read more on Barron's

Hamas's assault on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• itemize 
• register 
• write down