total
Americanadjective
-
constituting or comprising the whole; entire; whole.
the total expenditure.
- Synonyms:
- complete
-
of or relating to the whole of something.
the total effect of a play.
-
complete in extent or degree; absolute; unqualified; utter.
a total failure.
-
involving all aspects, elements, participants, resources, etc.; unqualified; all-out.
total war.
noun
verb (used with object)
-
to bring to a total; add up.
-
to reach a total of; amount to.
-
Slang. to wreck or demolish completely.
He totaled his new car in the accident.
verb (used without object)
noun
adjective
-
complete; absolute
the evening was a total failure
a total eclipse
-
(prenominal) being or related to a total
the total number of passengers
verb
-
to amount
to total six pounds
-
(tr) to add up
to total a list of prices
-
slang (tr) to kill or badly injure (someone)
-
(tr) to damage (a vehicle) beyond repair
Usage
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.
Synonym Usage
See whole.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
quasi-totallyadverb
-
retotalverb (used with object)
-
untotaledadjective
-
totallyadverb
-
quasi-totaladjective
-
untotalledadjective
-
supertotalnoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has totaledperfect 3rd person singular
-
has totalledperfect 3rd person singular
-
have totalledperfect
-
have totaledperfect
-
is totallingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
am totallingprogressive 1st person singular
-
are totalingprogressive
-
am totalingprogressive 1st person singular
-
are totallingprogressive
-
totalssingular 3rd person
-
is totalingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
have been totallingperfect progressive
-
have been totalingperfect progressive
-
totalingparticiple
-
has been totallingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
has been totalingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
totallingparticiple
Past
-
had totalledperfect
-
had totaledperfect
-
had been totalingperfect progressive
-
was totallingprogressive singular
-
were totallingprogressive plural
-
totaledparticiple
-
had been totallingperfect progressive
-
totalledparticiple
-
were totalingprogressive plural
-
totalledsimple
-
totaledsimple
-
was totalingprogressive singular
Future
Etymology
Origin of total
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (adjective), from Medieval Latin tōtālis , equivalent to Latin tōt(us) “entire” + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
There are many meanings of total, but they all have something to do with completeness. A total is a whole or complete amount, and "to total" is to add numbers or to destroy something. In math, you total numbers by adding them: the result is the total. If you add 8 and 8, the total is 16. If a car is totaled in an accident, it has been completely destroyed. A total defeat is a complete and utter defeat with no chance of recovering. The total resources of a company are all its resources, everything it has.
Vocabulary lists containing total
Eclipse Vocabulary
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Measurement and Data, List 1
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Operations and Algebraic Thinking
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The other reason that some investors intend to pass on the opportunity to invest in Musk's greatest adventure yet is their objection to the total control he will exert over the company.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
In its initial-public-offering filing, SpaceX said its projected $26.5 trillion AI total addressable market will be “constrained by Earth’s inability to rapidly scale power generation.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
Nurix is eligible to receive development, regulatory and sales milestones for potential total payments of up to $2.3 billion.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
When the dust settled, the airline had added more than 28,000 domestic seats, and over 30,000 total when accounting for long-haul international flights.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
That day the Freedom 7 traveled for a total of 15:02 minutes and 302 miles at an altitude of 115 miles high in the sky.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
