Jump To:

• tot
  tot

  noun

  a small child.
• tot.
  tot.

  abbreviation

  total.

tot

¹ American  

[tot] / tɒt /

noun

1. a small child.

2. Chiefly British. a small portion of a beverage, especially a dram of liquor.

3. a small quantity of anything.

---

tot ² American  

[tot] / tɒt /

verb (used with or without object)

tots, present (3rd person singular) totted, past participle, past totting present participle

1. to add; total (often followed byup ).

---

noun

1. a total.

2. the act of adding.

3. British Informal. a column of numbers to be added.

tot. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. total.

---

tot ¹ British  

/ tɒt /

noun

1. a young child; toddler

2. a small amount of anything

3. a small measure of spirits

---

tot ² British  

/ tɒt /

verb

1. (usually foll by up) to total; add

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• untotted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• totting
  present
• totted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tot
  simple
• tots
  simple
• have totted
  perfect
• has totted
  perfect
• am totting
  progressive
• are totting
  progressive
• is totting
  progressive
• have been totting
  perfect progressive
• has been totting
  perfect progressive

Past

• totted
  simple
• had totted
  perfect
• was totting
  progressive
• were totting
  progressive
• had been totting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tot
  simple
• will have totted
  perfect
• will be totting
  progressive
• will have been totting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of tot¹

1680–90; perhaps short for totterer ( def. )

Origin of tot²

1745–55; < Latin: so much, so many

Explanation

A tot is a small child, like the tots at your little sister's nursery school. Tater tots, or little bitty potato puffs, are another kind of tot. The origin of the noun tot is a little unclear, although we know it first appeared in the 18th century. It was also common in the early 20th century to refer to children's playgrounds as tot lots. As a verb, tot is an old-fashioned way to say "add," a shortened form of total. So your waiter might say, "I'll be right back with your check as soon as I tot everything up!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tot tots totted totting

The spending that was originally anticipated for the fourth quarter is pushed forward tot the first quarter of 2026.

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025

He’ll apparently risk dozens of full-grown proteges for one unproven tot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2025

When you tot up the balance of alleged irreparable harms here, it isn’t even a close call.

From Slate ● Mar. 19, 2024

The Aggies cashed in on the error when Daniels scored on a 2-yard run tot cut it to 24-13.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 27, 2023

Here’s a hint: If you can substitute a noun for the ing word—departure in place of going, for example, or habit tot smoking—then treat it like a noun.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Lamb Weston, based in Idaho, has a market value of close to $6.5 billion and is a major producer of frozen-potato products including french fries, hash browns and tater tots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026

Placing ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and FXX’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” into the same lunch tray compartments feels higher risk than, say, mixing red gelatin into your tater tots instead of ketchup.

From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2025

He pointed at the tater tots and our smashburgers, then around Chubzies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024

"Henry missed out on a lot of social interaction, going to mum and tots groups and things like that," she said.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2024

When he was younger, he’d sit at the bar and eat tater tots or grilled cheese while his dad laughed and held court for hours at a time.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

But Anisimova was annoyed with herself too, as she totted up 44 unforced errors to Pegula's 21 and made seven double faults.

From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026

When all the trimmings are totted up, a family Christmas is set to cost £31.66 in 2024, down from last year's figure of £32.18.

From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2024

An on-air graphic totted up the final score: 34 guilty, 0 not guilty.

From New York Times ● May 30, 2024

Zookeepers tempted squirrel monkeys onto scales, totted up tarantulas and used a curry-scented measuring stick to coax Sumatran tigers to stretch out.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2023

Now I totted up numbers this way and that.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

We might worry about the quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases totting up in the atmosphere, or feel increasingly nervous about tiny, naked-to-the-eye particles of pollution, especially in car-choked cities.

From Slate ● Dec. 20, 2021

Their own insularity prevents no one in this book from totting up the ethical and empathic deficits of others.

From New York Times ● Oct. 1, 2019

Plaid Cymru has added 200 people, taking its total to 8,000, while the Green Party has added 3,721, totting up to 66,573.

From BBC ● May 15, 2015

She goes quiet, as if she's totting up the years in her head.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 2, 2014

Frobisher shrugged his shoulders, and went on totting a line of figures in his memorandum-book.

From Roland Cashel Volume II (of II) by Lever, Charles James