total

[ toht-l ]

See synonyms for: total totaled totaling totalled on Thesaurus.com

adjective

constituting or comprising the whole; entire; whole: the total expenditure.
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

the total amount; sum; aggregate: a total of $200.
the whole; an entirety: the impressive total of Mozart's achievement.

verb (used with object),to·taled, to·tal·ing or (especially British) to·talled, to·tal·ling.

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),to·taled, to·tal·ing or (especially British) to·talled, to·tal·ling.

to amount (often followed by to).

Origin of total

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (adjective), from Medieval Latin tōtālis, equivalent to Latin tōt(us) “entire” + -ālis-al¹

synonym study For total

6. See whole.

Other words for total

1	complete
5, 6	gross, totality

See synonyms for total on Thesaurus.com

Other words from total

quasi-total, adjective
qua·si-to·tal·ly, adverb
re·to·tal, verb (used with object), re·to·taled, re·to·tal·ing or (especially British) re·to·talled, re·to·tal·ling, noun
su·per·to·tal, noun
un·to·taled, adjective
un·to·talled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use total in a sentence

The firm has declined to share the fund’s total size to date.
A16z is now managing $16.5 billion, after announcing two new funds | Natasha Mascarenhas | November 20, 2020 | TechCrunch
They don’t have a first down and have only seven yards of total offense.
Kyler Murray runs out of miracles as Seahawks hang on to take over first place in NFC West | Mark Maske | November 20, 2020 | Washington Post
Mike Conley picking up his $34 million option for 2020-21 was a total no-brainer.
NBA free agency tracker (plus trades): Warriors acquire Kelly Oubre; 76ers trade Al Horford to Thunder | Ben Golliver | November 20, 2020 | Washington Post
The Boy Scouts announced the total number of cases earlier this week, after a deadline passed for victims to come forward as part of the organization’s ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
Boy Scouts must settle 95,000 abuse claims by next summer — or risk running out of cash | Samantha Schmidt | November 19, 2020 | Washington Post
Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti agreed to absorb Horford so that he could pocket another first-round pick — incredibly, he now has 18 total through 2027 — and attempt to turn around and trade the five-time all-star center down the road.
On quiet night for NBA draft lottery selections, Anthony Edwards goes No. 1 to Timberwolves | Ben Golliver, Des Bieler | November 19, 2020 | Washington Post

The sale totalled £59,062, with buyers from nine countries across five ontinents.
Lagerfeld Talks Fashion and Religion in New Documentary; A New Exhibit on The Queen's Coronation Clothes | The Fashion Beast Team | July 26, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
You've no idea what the total comes to,' said George, as he ruefully totalled it up.
Sarah's School Friend | May Baldwin
Firmstone silently handed Hartwell the copy of his original letter of advice and the totalled figures of the recent weighing.
Blue Goose | Frank Lewis Nason
In the last week of May rains were frequent, and the precipitation totalled 2.09 inches.
Field Study of Kansas Ant-Eating Frog | Henry S. Fitch
Accessions increased during the depression years and after, so that in 1941 they totalled 159,000.
Report of the Chief Librarian | J. O. Wilson and General Assembly Library (New Zealand)
We totalled some three hundred and eighty officers and men and four hundred horses.
The Chronicles of a Gay Gordon | Jos Maria Gordon

British Dictionary definitions for total

total

/ (ˈtəʊtəl) /

noun

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

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-tals, -talling or -talled or US -tals, -taling or -taled

(when intr, sometimes foll by to) to amount: to total six pounds
(tr) to add up: to total a list of prices

(tr) slang to kill or badly injure (someone)
(tr) mainly US to damage (a vehicle) beyond repair

Origin of total

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

Derived forms of total

totally, adverb

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

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