totaled or totalled; totaling or totalling
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
Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 1 May 2025
The cost has so far been around 16 points in Trump’s polling to put him underwater by double digits—but the total bill is still being tallied.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 30 Apr. 2025
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 2 May 2025
What to know In a safety notice submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on April 24, GM disclosed that the recall affects a total of 597,630 vehicles.
—Tahar Rajab, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025
Jordan Novet, CNBC, 1 May 2025
The condo was built in 2008 and the living area totals 1,158 square feet.
—Bay Area Home Report, Mercury News, 1 May 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for total
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show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Last year, Canada exported $28 billion worth of cars to the U.S. − 94% of its total annual auto exports.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 1 May 2025
The cost has so far been around 16 points in Trump’s polling to put him underwater by double digits—but the total bill is still being tallied.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 30 Apr. 2025
Noun
Selected as an astronaut in 2013, McClain has spent a prior total of 13 hours and 8 minutes conducting two spacewalks – both occurring on her first 204-day spaceflight between 2018 and 2019.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 2 May 2025
What to know In a safety notice submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on April 24, GM disclosed that the recall affects a total of 597,630 vehicles.
—Tahar Rajab, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025
Verb
Amazon said first-quarter AWS operating income totaled $11.55 billion, higher than the $10.52 billion StreetAccount consensus.
—Jordan Novet, CNBC, 1 May 2025
The condo was built in 2008 and the living area totals 1,158 square feet.
—Bay Area Home Report, Mercury News, 1 May 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for total
Cite this Entry
“Total.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/total. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
total
1 of 3 adjective
to·tal
ˈtōt-ᵊl 
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 noun1
: 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
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