total

[toht-l]

adjective

1. constituting or comprising the whole; entire; whole.

   the total expenditure.

   Synonyms: complete

2. of or relating to the whole of something.

   the total effect of a play.

3. complete in extent or degree; absolute; unqualified; utter.

   a total failure.

4. involving all aspects, elements, participants, resources, etc.; unqualified; all-out.

   total war.

noun

1. the total amount; sum; aggregate.

   a total of $200.

   Synonyms: totality, gross

2. the whole; an entirety.

   the impressive total of Mozart's achievement.

   Synonyms: totality, gross

verb (used with object)

totaled, totaling , totalled, totalling .

1. to bring to a total; add up.

2. to reach a total of; amount to.

3. Slang.,  to wreck or demolish completely.

   He totaled his new car in the accident.

verb (used without object)

totaled, totaling , totalled, totalling .

1. to amount (often followed byto ).

total

/ ˈtəʊtəl /

noun

1. the whole, esp regarded as the complete sum of a number of parts

adjective

1. complete; absolute

   the evening was a total failure

   a total eclipse

2. (prenominal) being or related to a total

   the total number of passengers

verb

1. to amount

   to total six pounds

2. (tr) to add up

   to total a list of prices

3. slang,  (tr) to kill or badly injure (someone)

4. (tr) to damage (a vehicle) beyond repair

Other Word Forms

• quasi-total adjective
• quasi-totally adverb
• retotal verb (used with object)
• supertotal noun
• untotaled adjective
• untotalled adjective
• totally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of total¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (adjective), from Medieval Latin tōtālis , equivalent to Latin tōt(us) “entire” + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of total¹

C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin tōtālis, from Latin tōtus all

Synonym Study

See whole.

Example Sentences

Currently, around 6 million appointments a month are booked online - about one in five of the total.

From BBC

In total, 48 cases were rated red, 68 amber and 209 green, though the review did not define the exact nature of the concerns.

From BBC

Soon after reporting vote totals on Tuesday morning, AMA leadership sent another missive saying that veteran Magic Castle general manager Hervé Lévy was leaving his position, effective Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times

“The sum total,” Buttu said, ”is we have no Hamas, no Palestinian Authority, and just Israel.”

From Los Angeles Times

You inherit 23 of these bundles of DNA from each of your parents for a total of 46, which the egg already has.

From BBC

Related Words

• absolute 
• comprehensive 
• entire 
• full 
• outright 
• overall 
• sheer 
• unconditional 
• unlimited 
• unrestricted 
• utter 

When To Use

What does total mean?

Total describes the wholeness or entirety of something, like the total amount of cake you ate last night. If you ate the total cake, you ate the entire cake (and might have felt sick afterward!).Total describes the breadth of something either physically or conceptually. For example, your total order describes all the items in your purchase. While if you’re a total success, you are completely successful.A total is the complete amount or sum. The total on your restaurant bill is the entire amount of money you owe for your meal.A total can also be the entirety of something. The total of your book collection would be all the books you own, and the total of your sports equipment is all the equipment you own.Finally, to total is to add up (to total your bill) or to reach an amount, as in The bill totalled up to $56.75.Example: The total on the bill is higher than I expected because I forgot about sales tax.