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
Mark A. Cohen, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
In total, federal authorities allege Reis and four co-conspirators applied for a license for more than 1,000 people, including more than 600 who were able to fraudulently get a license through the scheme.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2025
Rachel McRady, People.com, 6 June 2025
The April count was revised lower by 30,000, while March's total came down by 65,000 to 120,000.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 6 June 2025
Bay Area Home Report, Mercury News, 6 June 2025
For the forthcoming earnings report, analysts forecast earnings of $0.08 per share with sales totaling $754 million.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 6 June 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
In-house now outpaces Big Law as a percentage of total legal spend, a reflection of corporate buyers’ search for alternatives to the legacy firm model.
—Mark A. Cohen, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
In total, federal authorities allege Reis and four co-conspirators applied for a license for more than 1,000 people, including more than 600 who were able to fraudulently get a license through the scheme.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2025
Noun
His name was mentioned in flight logs released earlier this year by Attorney General Pam Bondi a total of seven times.
—Rachel McRady, People.com, 6 June 2025
The April count was revised lower by 30,000, while March's total came down by 65,000 to 120,000.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 6 June 2025
Verb
The condo was built in 2018 and the living area totals 2,688 square feet.
—Bay Area Home Report, Mercury News, 6 June 2025
For the forthcoming earnings report, analysts forecast earnings of $0.08 per share with sales totaling $754 million.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 6 June 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 21 Jun. 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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