total

[ toht-l ]
See synonyms for: totaltotaledtotalingtotalled on Thesaurus.com

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

  2. of or relating to the whole of something: the total effect of a play.

  1. complete in extent or degree; absolute; unqualified; utter: a total failure.

  2. involving all aspects, elements, participants, resources, etc.; unqualified; all-out: total war.

noun
  1. the total amount; sum; aggregate: a total of $200.

  2. 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.
  1. to bring to a total; add up.

  2. to reach a total of; amount to.

  1. 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.
  1. to amount (often followed by to).

Origin of total

1
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

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

Words Nearby total

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use total in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for total

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-tals, -talling or -talled or US -tals, -taling or -taled
  1. (when intr, sometimes foll by to) to amount: to total six pounds

  2. (tr) to add up: to total a list of prices

  1. (tr) slang to kill or badly injure (someone)

  2. (tr) mainly US to damage (a vehicle) beyond repair

Origin of total

1
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