total

1 of 4

adjective

to·​tal ˈtō-tᵊl How to pronounce total (audio)
1
: comprising or constituting a whole : entire
the total amount
2
: absolute, utter
a total failure
a total stranger
3
: involving a complete and unified effort especially to achieve a desired effect
total war
total theater

total

2 of 4

noun

1
: a product of addition : sum
2
: an entire quantity : amount

total

3 of 4

verb

totaled or totalled; totaling or totalling

transitive verb

1
: to add up : compute
2
: to amount to : number
3
: to make a total wreck of : demolish
specifically : to damage so badly that the cost of repairs exceeds the market value of the vehicle
totaled the car

total

4 of 4

adverb

Choose the Right Synonym for total

whole, entire, total, all mean including everything or everyone without exception.

whole implies that nothing has been omitted, ignored, abated, or taken away.

read the whole book

entire may suggest a state of completeness or perfection to which nothing can be added.

the entire population was wiped out

total implies that everything has been counted, weighed, measured, or considered.

the total number of people present

all may equal whole, entire, or total.

all proceeds go to charity

Examples of total in a Sentence

Adjective a total lack of support a total eclipse of the sun He demanded total control of the project. What was the total amount of the bill? the total number of words The country has a total population of about 100 million. Noun a total of 25 square miles that's the total for our wheat harvest this year Verb He carefully totaled the bill. two and two total four
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
After adding in the state and local sales tax, plus the DMV and dealer fees, the out the door and in your garage total purchase price came to: $98,432. Tony Leopardo, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024 That would increase how much they’re compensated since the total fee ends up getting split between listing agents and the buyer’s agents. Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024 The total score for each city is calculated by summing the weighted scores for each of these metric. The Courier-Journal, 16 Mar. 2024 Where else do total strangers gather to cheer and applaud each other for doing things badly? Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2024 The next opportunity to experience a total solar eclipse is the U.S. is not until 2044. USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2024 Led by veteran war photographer Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst), the tight crew of journalists are total pros. Peter Debruge, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024 In total, more than 43,000 officers were assaulted that year. Elliot Hughes, Journal Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2024 There are eight food and beverage concepts in total, ranging from the intimate, 20-seat lobby bar hideout, Bitter Honey, to the secret speakeasy and cigar lounge, Txakolina, tucked away behind a service door on the 18th floor. Chrissie McClatchie, Travel + Leisure, 5 Mar. 2024
Noun
The nurse said a new notice for a total of 15 full-time equivalent positions in labor and delivery at Hillcrest were added. Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2024 The set earned a total of 227,000 units in the latest tracking week (ending March 14), with 195 million on-demand official streams and 77,000 album sales, according to data provided by Luminate. Thania Garcia, Variety, 18 Mar. 2024 By the end of 2024, Renaud Tixier plans to deliver a total of 60 units to customers. Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 18 Mar. 2024 New property sales reached a total of 1.06 trillion yuan ($147 billion) in the first two months of this year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday. Laura He, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024 Play is ruled by a clock, with each player getting a total of 25 minutes a game, so there’s not a lot of idle chitchat. Joe Heim, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2024 The National Weather Service offices have confirmed a total of eight tornadoes struck Ohio following storm surveys conducted Friday. USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2024 This may lead to storm totals more than 3 inches in parts of the South. Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 16 Mar. 2024 See the totals How many people moved to Arizona from other places? Sahana Jayaraman, The Arizona Republic, 16 Mar. 2024
Verb
The first phase of the project called for four multifamily buildings totaling 500 units, 320,000 square feet of retail and a 125-key hotel. The Enquirer, 19 Mar. 2024 Spending a full summer in one of the region’s more elaborate programs can total more than $4,000 per child. Marisa Iati, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 This example of the definitive Ferrari has had just two owners and totaled less than 2,000 miles since leaving the factory. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 14 Mar. 2024 With that addition, the company’s investment in labor would total roughly $150 million. Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024 In 2018, Deutsche Bank issued the loan, which totaled $48.75 million, according to the public property records. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 Their ability to drive sales has a direct effect on the company’s revenue, which totaled $648.1 billion last year worldwide. Jordyn Holman, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024 The Heat, which entered with the NBA’s second-best defensive rating since the start of February, allowed the Mavericks to total 114 points on 46 percent shooting from the field and 16-of-41 (39 percent) shooting from three-point range while committing only 10 turnovers. Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 According to the Four Lakes Task Force, a volunteer group of property owners, the operations and maintenance assessment totaling $8.8 million would be for five years, from 2025 through 2029, while the capital improvement assessment totaling $217.7 million would be for 40 years. Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 5 Mar. 2024
Adverb
Dunning upped his innings pitched total from 117 in 2021 to 153, which was the biggest marker of progress for him on the season. Dallas News, 26 Sep. 2022 Phiaton rates the buds as offering 11 hours if continuous use, and up to 28 hours total with the charging case. Andy Meek, BGR, 22 Dec. 2022 Battery life tops 8 hours between charges, or up to 28 hours total with the charging case. Marc Saltzman, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2022 Tom Brady, the greatest winner of this generation, has won total. Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Aug. 2022 What makes his opinions potentially tricky is the fact that Britain has a constitutional monarchy, which is very different from the type of absolute monarchies that wield total, undemocratic political power in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Alexander Smith, NBC News, 8 Sep. 2022 The offensive player to watch is C Logan Gallina (.333, 21 HR, 62 RBIs), the only Aggies player with a double-digit home run total. San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 June 2022 Last year, there were five ozone action days total. Liliana Webb, Detroit Free Press, 11 July 2022 Golden Gate, with a difficulty rating of 5.13b, contains 41 pitches total, with the toughest ones awaiting in the final ten, which is partly what makes the route such a demanding one to free-climb within 24 hours. Andrew Bisharat, Outside Online, 6 Nov. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'total.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin totalis, from Latin totus whole, entire

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1557, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1716, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1601, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of total was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near total

Cite this Entry

“Total.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/total. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

total

1 of 3 adjective
to·​tal ˈtōt-ᵊl How to pronounce total (audio)
1
: of or relating to the whole of something
a total eclipse of the sun
2
: making up the whole
the total amount
3
: being such to the fullest degree
total ruin
4
: making use of every means to do something
total war

total

2 of 3 noun
1
: a product of addition : sum
2
: an entire amount

total

3 of 3 verb
totaled or totalled; totaling or totalling
1
2
: to amount to
donations totaled $120
3
: to make a total wreck of
totaled the car

More from Merriam-Webster on total

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!