total

adjective to·tal \ ˈtō-tᵊl \

Updated on: 10 Dec 2017

Definition of total

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

See total defined for English-language learners

See total defined for kids

Examples of total in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of total from the Web

Notable numbers: The Bulldogs' defense, ranked third nationally in scoring defense, held South Carolina to just 43 yards rushing and 270 yards total.

— ron higgins, NOLA.com, "Unbeatens Alabama and Georgia continue on collision course in SEC Rewind Week 10," 5 Nov. 2017
This incident is disgraceful and a total embarrassment.

— elisha anderson, Detroit Free Press, "25 years ago, Malice Green became the face of police brutality in Detroit," 5 Nov. 2017
Lake Mary shot even-par 288 as a team on Saturday, which combined with its first day 300 gave it a winning 588 total for 36 holes.

— buddy collings, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Jenny Kim, Jonathan Yaun and Lake Mary are champs | 3A State Golf," 4 Nov. 2017
The Blazers rank first in the NBA in offensive rebound percentage (27.1), second in defensive rebound percentage (81.9) and first in total rebound percentage (54.5).

— OregonLive.com, "Portland Trail Blazers vs Oklahoma City Thunder: Game preview, TV channel, how to watch live stream," 4 Nov. 2017
Combined, the two documents total over 2,000 pages.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Climate change driven almost entirely by human action, says report released by Trump administration," 3 Nov. 2017
Last season, Boise State tight ends combined for 29 total receptions.

— dave southorn, idahostatesman, "Boise State’s touchdown maker ‘feeling the best I have’ after rough junior season," 3 Nov. 2017
The Democratic party was a total financial disaster and Hillary Clinton's campaign helped them pay off their debt in exchange for control of the party before the primary was done.

— jack moore, GQ, "Former DNC Interim Chair Wants You All to Know the DNC Was as Corrupt as You Were Thinking," 2 Nov. 2017
Penalties include up to 10 years in federal prison for each of the four counts and fines of up to $100,000, or up to 50 percent of the total value for the transactions, for each of the four years encompassed in the counts.

— michael biesecker, The Christian Science Monitor, "Manafort indicted on 12 federal charges, could face years in prison," 1 Nov. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'total.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of total

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

total Synonyms

Synonyms

all-out, arrant, blank, blooming [chiefly British], bodacious [Southern & Midland], categorical (also categoric), clean, complete, consummate, cotton-picking, crashing, damn, damned, dead, deadly, definite, downright, dreadful, fair, flat, flat-out, out-and-out, outright, perfect, plumb, profound, pure, rank, regular, sheer, simple, stark, stone, straight-out, thorough, thoroughgoing, absolute, unadulterated, unalloyed, unconditional, unmitigated, unqualified, utter, very

Antonyms

imperfect, incomplete, partial

Related Words

authentic, classic, genuine, real, veritable; constant, endless, eternal, perpetual, undying, unremitting; extreme, unrestricted; confirmed, habitual, hopeless, inveterate; extraordinary, frightful, horrible, huge, main, superlative, supreme, surpassing, terrible, terrific

Near Antonyms

doubtful, dubious, equivocal, qualified, questionable, restricted, uncertain

Synonym Discussion of 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

total

noun

Definition of total

1 : a product of addition : sum

2 : an entire quantity : amount

See total defined for English-language learners

Examples of total in a Sentence

a total of 25 square miles
that's the total for our wheat harvest this year

Recent Examples of total from the Web

The death was the 13th American military fatality in Afghanistan this year, the lowest annual total since 2001.

— najim rahim and mujib mashal, New York Times, "U.S. Strikes Caused at Least 13 Civilian Casualties, Afghans Say," 4 Nov. 2017
Investment across the region’s economies slowed to just $896 million in the first half of 2017, compared with last year’s overall total of $4.2 billion, according to data from the Emerging Market Private Equity Association.

— michelle jamrisko, Bloomberg.com, "Fund Managers Are Far Less Giddy About Southeast Asia This Year," 2 Nov. 2017
Under her leadership, the organization has more than tripled its number of active supporters, with an inspirational total of more than 10 million.

— vanityfair.com, "Cecile Richards’s Desk Is Covered in Planned Parenthood Swag," 20 Oct. 2017
That lifted Townsend's career total to 10,078 yards on 217 punts.

— mark inabinett, AL.com, "Florida at Missouri by the numbers: 2 most recent SEC East champs square off with losing records," 4 Nov. 2017
The additional cash would bring Graphcore’s total to around $110 million.

— giles turner, Bloomberg.com, "Sequoia Capital Is Said to Back U.K. Chip Startup Graphcore," 3 Nov. 2017
Charges: 9 counts of the 12 total counts in the indictment.

— eileen reslen, Esquire, "A Full List of All the Charges Filed in Mueller’s Russia Probe," 30 Oct. 2017
Microsoft sold an average 133,333 Kinects per day for a total of 8 million units in its first 60 days on sale.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Microsoft Quits the Kinect," 25 Oct. 2017
Amazon, which has not been shy about hiring thousands of people, has a long track record of securing subsidies from states and cities—more than $700 million in total since 2000, according to Bloomberg.

— maya kosoff, The Hive, "The 12 Most Desperate Stunts Cities Have Pulled to Woo Amazon’s New H.Q.," 23 Oct. 2017

First Known Use of total

1557

total Synonyms

Synonyms

aggregate, full, sum, summation, sum total, whole, totality

Related Words

gross; completeness, comprehensiveness, cumulativeness, entirety; bulk, lion's share, mass; enchilada, schmear

Near Antonyms

net

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

abscissa, denominator, divisor, equilateral, exponent, hypotenuse, logarithm, oblique, radii, rhomb

total

verb

Definition of total

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

See total defined for English-language learners

Examples of total in a Sentence

He carefully totaled the bill.
two and two total four

Recent Examples of total from the Web

He's eclipsed that TD total with 10 while running rushing 774 yards on 139 carries — an average of 5.6 yards.

— blake baumgartner, Naperville Sun, "AJ Deinhart's running gives Naperville Central another reason to believe," 2 Nov. 2017
The city of San Antonio is suing Time Warner Cable Texas for allegedly unpaid franchise fees totaling more than $6 million.

— patrick danner, San Antonio Express-News, "City sues cable company over allegedly unpaid fees," 27 Oct. 2017
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Jason Furman, who led the CEA under Barack Obama, pointed out that if the report is right, wage increases would total about three to six times the cost of the tax cut.

— The Economist, "Corporations are people, tooWill corporate tax cuts boost workers’ wages?," 26 Oct. 2017
Estimated to total more than $7 billion this year, the money -- which is paid to insurers -- helps cover costs for about 7 million Obamacare enrollees.

— andrew m harris, Bloomberg.com, "California-Led Group Asks Court to Keep Obamacare Subsidies," 14 Oct. 2017
Megan Lund tallied 13 kills and 12 digs for Flintridge Sacred Heart (5-8, 0-2 in league), while Maddie Pernecky totaled 16 digs and Cate Doud contributed 23 assists.

— staff reports, Glendale News-Press, "Sports Roundup: Glendale college’s Salas, Lopez win at Golden West," 22 Sep. 2017
My head went into the windshield and the car was totaled, but blessedly nobody else was hurt.

— john hendrickson, Esquire, "Are We Afraid of Death or Afraid of Talking About Death?," 14 Sep. 2017
Some of its interest, along with other income sources such as foundation memberships and the annual RB Community Thanksgiving Luncheon, go toward the grants that last year totaled $70,200.

— elizabeth marie himchak, Rancho Bernardo, "Rancho Bernardo's Pathway of Pride will have 18 new plaques," 9 Sep. 2017
At the same time, China is Taiwan’s top trading partner, with imports and exports totaling $118 billion last year and billions of dollars invested by Taiwanese in the mainland since the 1990s.

— ralph jennings, The Seattle Times, "Taiwan premier’s resignation puts spotlight on China ties," 4 Sep. 2017

First Known Use of total

1716

total Synonyms

Synonyms

add up (to), aggregate, come (to), count (up to), number, sum (to or into), amount (to)

Antonyms

build, construct, erect, put up, raise, rear, set up

Related Words

average, equal, measure, reach; compose, comprise, constitute, make up

Near Antonyms

doctor, fix, mend, patch, recondition, repair, revamp; create, invent; assemble, fabricate, fashion, forge, form, frame, make, manufacture, mold, produce, shape; bring about, constitute, establish, father, found, institute, organize; conserve, preserve, protect, save; rebuild, reconstruct, remodel, renovate, restore

total

adverb

Definition of total

: totally

Recent Examples of total from the Web

Noted tech analyst Ming Chi Kuo estimated about two to three million units total.

— marissa miller, Teen Vogue, "iPhone X Preorders Note Multiple Week Waiting Period," 27 Oct. 2017
Bajoit and Skelly, Esteban and Kuglen as well as Kanzarkar and Sanjay Radhadkrishan also swept, dropping just three games total between the three duos.

— staff report, Houston Chronicle, "TEAM TENNIS: The Woodlands beats Pearce in area round," 19 Oct. 2017
Already in five games with Seattle, Smith is nearly halfway to his career sacks total.

— USA TODAY, "Like most seasons some unsung players emerging for Seahawks," 12 Oct. 2017
At Lynwood Bowl, Lynwood, Ill. Day one Leader and local teams (6 teams total): 1.

— Post-Tribune, "Post-Tribune Local Scoreboard for Sunday, Nov. 5," 4 Nov. 2017
As a share of events, September’s total decreased significantly since August.

— erica chenoweth, Washington Post, "Sometimes a handful of protesters can spark an enormous discussion. That certainly happened in September.," 1 Nov. 2017
The development will total 68 assisted living apartments, 33 memory care units and four to eight independent living townhouses.

— ely portillo, charlotteobserver, "New development for older residents coming to town near Charlotte," 31 Oct. 2017
George Harrison, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney all had multiple number-one albums, though, and the band made the list 19 times total, compared to One Direction's four number-one spots.

— suzannah weiss, Teen Vogue, "One Direction Ties With The Beatles for a World Record," 31 Oct. 2017
WAUKEGAN INVITATIONAL Winner and top local teams (18 teams total): 1.

— Lake County News-Sun, "Lake County News-Sun Local Scoreboard for Monday, Sept. 11," 10 Sep. 2017

First Known Use of total

1601

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

abscissa, denominator, divisor, equilateral, exponent, hypotenuse, logarithm, oblique, radii, rhomb

TOTAL Defined for English Language Learners

total

adjective

Definition of total for English Language Learners

: complete or absolute
: after everything or everyone is counted

total

noun

Definition of total for English Language Learners

: the number or amount of everything counted

total

verb

Definition of total for English Language Learners

: to produce (a total) when added together
: to add numbers together to find out the total
: to damage (something, such as a car) so badly that it is not worth repairing

TOTAL Defined for Kids

total

adjective to·tal \ ˈtō-tᵊl \

Definition of total for Students

1 : being such to the fullest degree

total ruin

2 : making up the whole

I collected the total amount.

3 : of or relating to the whole of something

a total eclipse of the sun

4 : making use of every means to do something

total war

—

totally

adverb

total

noun

Definition of total for Students

: the entire number or amount counted : sum

total

verb

Definition of total for Students

totaled or totalled; totaling or totalling

1 : to add up

Did you total the scores?

2 : to amount to : number

Donations totaled five hundred dollars.

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