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• tote
  tote

  verb (used with object)

  to carry, as on one's back or in one's arms.
• Tote
  Tote

  noun

  (sometimes not capital) short for totalizator totalizator

tote

¹ American  

[toht] / toʊt /

verb (used with object)

toted, toting

1. to carry, as on one's back or in one's arms.

   to tote a bundle.

2. to carry on one's person.

   to tote a gun.

3. to transport or convey, as on a vehicle or boat.

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noun

1. the act or course of toting.

2. something that is toted.

3. tote bag.

tote ² American  

[toht] / toʊt /

verb (used with object)

toted, toting

1. Informal. to add up; total.

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tote ³ American  

[toht] / toʊt /

noun

Informal.

1. a totalizator.

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tote ¹ British  

/ təʊt /

verb

1. (tr) to carry, convey, or drag

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noun

1. the act of or an instance of toting

2. something toted

Tote ² British  

/ təʊt /

noun

1. (sometimes not capital) short for totalizator totalizator

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Other Word Forms

• toter
  noun
• totable
  adjective
• toteable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of tote¹

An Americanism dating back to 1670–80; origin uncertain

Origin of tote²

First recorded in 1885–90; probably verb use of tote, shortening of total

Origin of tote³

First recorded in 1890–95; by shortening

Explanation

A tote is a bag or basket used to carry things. Toting also refers to lugging things around. If you ever go to a conference, there's a good chance you might be given a tote, which is also known as a tote bag. Totes help people carry around conference materials, and they can be used to carry all sorts of things, including clothes for a trip or groceries at the store. Also, carrying things around is called toting. Usually, toting refers to carrying things around with difficulty. A giant box is hard to tote around.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tote Tote toted toting

“It’s killing browse time, which is what a high street is for,” Oliver said as she arranged some colorful tote bags on a rack outside her store.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Some complained on social media that international tourists at Trader Joe’s were buying up all the mini canvas tote bags.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

Visitors to the GoMA can also part with £15 to get their hands on a coned Duke of Wellington tote bag or £20 for a T-shirt.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

As the company spread across the U.S., it maintained rules for decades: Kids were allowed only with a chaperone age 25 or older, and adults could tote along just three total kids.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

Elizabeth’s broom knocks Mama’s tote bag with a loud thump, and I jump.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Bean Boat and Tote, gives it enough distance from overtly corporate American brands that international carriers can embrace it without feeling complicit, Davies said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 3, 2026

Celebrate all things fashion as well as New York designer Marc Jacobs’ 40th anniversary with this cute Tote Bag Necklace.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2024

There, she found a partner in the conductor Kirill Petrenko, the house’s former music director, with whom she sang in “Lulu,” Korngold’s “Die Tote Stadt” and Strauss’s “Salome.”

From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2022

Hardmill Market Tote: Made in Seattle of waxed canvas or leather, these handsome totes feature fine finishing touches like leather straps, an inner leather base, copper rivets and two inside pockets.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 12, 2021

Tote a little corn bread for ’em too.

From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper

Dancing to drums in downtown Yangon, the crowd of nationalist activists and saffron-robed monks twirled miniature national flags and toted banners denying accusations of ethnic cleansing being levelled at The Hague.

From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026

During a family trip to Lake Tahoe, he toted two bags of notes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

He toted Walter around the whole day, and at the end of their visit, I told him he could take Walter home if he wanted to.

From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2025

Queen Elizabeth II, who was in residence, was said to have looked at the guns being toted by these unexpected arrivals.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025

Loomis nailed the box shut, and he and Papa and I toted Grandpa out the back door to the wagon.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Since many high school-age players can’t drive, a parent has to accept the responsibility of toting them back and forth to team activities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

And at the end of it all, Colbert flew off in Santa’s sleigh toting his prized Captain America shield, with unicorn Abraham Lincoln and “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, the man with all the answers.

From Salon ● May 21, 2026

So if you’re toting around two kids and want a fun-filled day that costs less than $200, but you hate walking around museums, then say exactly that.

From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026

And then, of course, spiders are venomous, toting enough toxin to immobilize and liquify prey and, in a few cases, cause lesions, necrosis or death in humans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

A metal automat whizzed by her, toting baskets and placing them on nearby shelves, and then dropped off items to a woman behind a counter.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

• bag
• handbag
• satchel
• shopping bag
• tote bag