total

adjective

to·tal | \ ˈtō-tᵊl

Definition of total

(Entry 1 of 4)

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

total

noun

Definition of total (Entry 2 of 4)

1 : a product of addition : sum

2 : an entire quantity : amount

total

verb

totaled or totalled; totaling or totalling

Definition of total (Entry 3 of 4)

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

total

adverb

Definition of total (Entry 4 of 4)

: totally

Other Words from total Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about total

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Choose the Right Synonym for total

Adjective

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

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: Adjective

The total cost of her look, per the magazine’s estimate, is a whopping $200,000. — Glamour, "Jennifer Lopez Completed a $200K Outfit With $60 Sunglasses," 25 Mar. 2019 The housing authority has three similar projects in construction at other developments, and the total cost for all four is $271.8 million. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "$1,973 LEDs and the Green New Deal," 15 Feb. 2019 The national government’s Board of Audit spelled out total Olympic costs in a 178-page report published in October. — Stephen Wade, The Seattle Times, "Bach and IOC: No Olympic city ever as ready as Tokyo," 5 Dec. 2018 Thailand had bought more than 700 of the detectors starting in 2004 at a total cost of about $21 million. — Kaweewit Kaewjinda, Fox News, "Thai businessman convicted of selling fake bomb detectors," 27 Sep. 2018 In each episode, two top interior designers will be tasked with creating luxury looks for less ($25,000, to be exact) in the homes of couples who are in desperate need of a total room makeover. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "A First Look at Best Room Wins, Bravo’s New Interior Design Competition Series," 14 Mar. 2019 In total, preparations for the Great Exhibition, which included not only selecting the location in Hyde Park, but also designing, manufacturing, and building the inconic Crystal Palace, took just 16 months. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "The True Story of Prince Albert's Great Exhibition," 4 Mar. 2019 In total, four crew members were hospitalized after the plane landed at Minneapolis-St. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "Crew Hospitalized After Strange 'Burnt Plastic' Smell Wafts into Alaska Airlines Plane," 1 Mar. 2019 In total, there are about 300 lakefront properties with direct access to Lake Michigan, a location that adds a 45% premium to the price, says real-estate agent Jena Radnay, also with At Properties. — Alina Dizik, WSJ, "What’s It Take to Sell a Home on Chicago’s Lake Michigan? Patience," 21 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Sugaring thins the hair and eventually kills the hair follicle in total. — Maya Allen, Marie Claire, "How to Make Your Bikini Wax Less Painful, According to Experts," 1 Apr. 2019 The demonstrations—there were more than 2,000 events in total—were inspired by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, a Swedish activist who first started skipping class almost weekly to stage protests against climate inaction. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, "Scenes From the Student-Led Global Climate Strike," 15 Mar. 2019 USA Today has reported that in total, 50 people — including nine college coaches, 33 parents, ACT and SAT exam administrators, and others — have been charged as of publication time. — Emily Bloch, Teen Vogue, "Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman Among Dozens of Wealthy Parents Indicted in College Admissions Cheating Scheme," 12 Mar. 2019 The roof would cost $240 million in that total, according to Topkin. — Jenna West, SI.com, "PHOTOS: Tampa Bay Rays Unveil Plans for New Stadium With Roof, Sliding Glass Walls," 10 July 2018 In total, between 200 million and 600 million Facebook users may have had their account passwords stored in plain text and searchable by more than 20,000 Facebook employees, dating back to 2012, Krebs wrote. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Facebook passwords for hundreds of millions of users were exposed to Facebook employees," 21 Mar. 2019 The fold-up divider features three rotating panels, each with space for six 5'x7' and 4'x6' photos, for a total of 18 photos. — Brittney Morgan, House Beautiful, "Umbra's Pano Is a Clever Gallery Wall and a Room Divider All in One," 7 Mar. 2019 Kendrick Lamar leads the pack, with a total of eight nominations, including Album of the Year for the Black Panther soundtrack. — Aja Romano, Vox, "Grammy nominations 2019: Kendrick Lamar’s Black Panther soundtrack and Drake lead the pack," 7 Feb. 2019 Current estimates put the force at ten submarines, with a total of 212 Trident D-5 missiles and 945 W-76-1 warheads on call at any time. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Trump Administration Begins Production of New Nuclear Weapon," 1 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The costs of interning in DC for a summer can total up to $10,000, including an apartment, travel, professional clothing, metro cards, food, and course, credit. — Audrey Henson, Vox, "Diversity on Capitol Hill starts with paying interns," 26 Dec. 2018 Samuel Mayfield and Timothy Huff remained jailed Saturday on bonds totaling $850,000 for each individual. — Fox News, "Police: Capital murder charges likely in Texas cop's death," 15 Sep. 2018 And because many of the countries will be competing at the world championship for the first time, some players had to pay for airfare, lodging, food and equipment, which in some cases totaled as much as $5,000. — Edward Lee, baltimoresun.com, "For a shot at world championship, area lacrosse players follow family history to nontraditional nations," 12 July 2018 Paris recovered in the hospital for three days, then stayed two more while the hospital waited for the bill, which totaled $12,000, to be paid. — Jay Reddick, OrlandoSentinel.com, "DJZ overcomes horrific injury to find Impact Wrestling success," 27 June 2018 Overall equivalent album units for the Latin genre totaled 9.2 million for the first half of the year -- up 31 percent as compared to the first half of 2017. — Keith Caulfield, Billboard, "Ozuna & J Balvin Loom Large on Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2018 Latin Charts," 10 July 2018 Filings earlier this year showed that MoviePass had a combined $43.4 million available between its own cash and what is on deposit with its merchant processors, while the company’s monthly expense at the end of April totaled $21.7 million. — Aric Jenkins, Fortune, "MoviePass Plans to Raise $1.2 Billion Despite Questions About Sustainability," 2 July 2018 On top of the nearly $400,000 allegedly due to the district, those spreadsheets also indicate the revenues from a host of other special taxes went to state pensions, totaling nearly $4 million annually. — Beau Evans, NOLA.com, "New Orleans may have improperly diverted millions in special taxes to pension fund, lawsuit alleges," 14 May 2018 To date, more than 125 projects have been funded through the program, totaling close to $6 million. — Lisa Beebe, Los Angeles Magazine, "Los Angeles Chargers Making An Impact in L.A. – Both On and Off the Field," 9 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

There are seven styles total, based on the brand's most popular denim pieces, with prices start at $98 and go up to $128. — Ana Colón, Glamour, "Reformation's Cult-Favorite Jeans Will Now Be Available in Sizes 0 Through 24," 12 Nov. 2018 The ministry is proposing total defense spending of around $47.7 billion for the fiscal year starting in April, excluding funds to support U.S. forces in Japan. — Alastair Gale, WSJ, "Japan to Spend Billions on U.S. Missile-Defense System," 31 Aug. 2018 Others have estimated that the lawsuits total above 1,600. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Blockbuster drug Abilify nears Judgment Day over compulsive gambling, sex," 3 Aug. 2018 Season with salt and pepper and roast, tossing after 12 minutes, until golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total; fold in baby kale and reserved bread cubes. — Anna Helm Baxter, Good Housekeeping, "Roasted Squash Panzanella," 24 Oct. 2018 There were 48 stops total resulting in eight arrests and 19 verbal warnings. — Olivia King, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan State Police ticket crackdown targets Southfield," 3 July 2018 He was charged with two earned runs total after LH Tom Windle (W, 4-2) pitched 2/3 of an inning in relief. — Nick Tricome, Philly.com, "Phillies minor league report: Lehigh Valley, Reading sweep doubleheaders," 27 May 2018 The Angels already have used 11 pitchers to start games and 25 pitchers total, the most ever for the franchise through the first 74 games of a season. — Jeff Miller, latimes.com, "Angels' Tyler Skaggs misses start over hamstring issue," 22 June 2018 Israel predicts that writing and following up on this letter will take your lawyer about three hours total, billed in five or ten-minute increments (so, somewhere between $400 and $900). — Charlotte Cowles, The Cut, "My Ex Boyfriend Owes Me $10,000. How Do I Get Him to Pay Me Back?," 7 June 2018

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.