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
Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 11 July 2025
The state recorded 188 total overdose deaths, with 129 involving opioids, which makes up 68.6 percent of its fatalities.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
Kristin Shaw, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
More than one in five Floridians — nearly 5 million in total — are 65 or older.
—Michelle Flowers, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 July 2025
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 July 2025
The 31-year-old totaled three innings, six hits, four runs (3 earned), three walks, two strikeouts and 73 pitches against the Cubs.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 12 July 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.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
Świątek may be surprised to be here, but Anisimova must be in total shock.
—Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 11 July 2025
The state recorded 188 total overdose deaths, with 129 involving opioids, which makes up 68.6 percent of its fatalities.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
Noun
In total, Mazda believes the setup in the CX-5 follows its original philosophy to put safety first.
—Kristin Shaw, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
More than one in five Floridians — nearly 5 million in total — are 65 or older.
—Michelle Flowers, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 July 2025
Verb
Rainfall is expected to total between 1 and 3 inches, with some areas receiving up to 5 inches.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 July 2025
The 31-year-old totaled three innings, six hits, four runs (3 earned), three walks, two strikeouts and 73 pitches against the Cubs.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 12 July 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 25 Jul. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share