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totes

[tohts]
adverb Informal.
  1. totally: That's totes awesome!
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Origin of totes

by shortening and alteration

tote1

[toht]
verb (used with object), tot·ed, tot·ing.
  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.
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Origin of tote1

An Americanism dating back to 1670–80; origin uncertain
Related formstot·a·ble, tote·a·ble, adjectivetot·er, noun

tote2

[toht]
verb (used with object), tot·ed, tot·ing.
  1. Informal. to add up; total.
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Origin of tote2

1885–90; probably v. use of tote, shortening of total

tote3

[toht]
noun Informal.
  1. a totalizator.
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Origin of tote3

First recorded in 1890–95; by shortening
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

haul, hoist, fetch, lug, heft, convoy, freight, give, move, waft, bring, convey, transport, transplant, transfer, sustain, take, conduct, transmit, import

Examples from the Web for totes

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Moore swirls you in cobwebs and totes you away into infinity.

  • The old man–judging from his photograph, which Hill totes around in his pocket–is a bigger freak than Hiram is.

  • The rest haven't got beyond paper, and old Huz-and-Buz totes them round in his pocket, which isn't good for their growth.'

    Wandering Heath

    Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

  • Yes, and that little chair he totes around, and look how it's all twisted out of shape.

  • Just because I totes them in plain sight I've got to hand 'em over to some liquor-wrastler?

British Dictionary definitions for totes

totes

adverb
  1. British slang totally; completely; entirelyThat is totes amazing.
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Word Origin

shortening of totally

tote

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
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Derived Formstoter, noun

Word Origin

C17: of obscure origin

Tote

noun
  1. the Tote (sometimes not capital) trademark short for totalizator (def. 1), totalizator (def. 2)
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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

Word Origin and History for totes

tote

v.

"to carry," 1670s, of unknown origin; originally attested in Virginia, but OED discounts the popular theory of its origin in a W.African language (cf. Kikongo tota "pick up," Kimbundu tuta "carry, load," related to Swahili tuta "pile up, carry"). Related: Toted; toting. Tote bag is first recorded 1900.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper