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
Bloomberg has reported that the figure could be closer to 20% in some divisions, potentially pushing the total number of layoffs beyond 20,000.—Edward Ludlow, Fortune, 22 Apr. 2024 Earth has a similar area for services and what also resembles the world’s largest laundromat, with a total 78 vessels.—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for total
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
Share