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

Synonyms & Antonyms 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

With a couple of places, the total meal cost is actually between $40 and $42, because the options were so good. — Michael Nagrant, RedEye Chicago, "Date night under $50: What to order at some of Chicago's best restaurants," 12 July 2018 The total cost of the committee’s recommended raises amounts to $171,007. — Jasper Scherer, San Antonio Express-News, "Bexar commissioners OK salary increase, seek military transition center bids," 10 July 2018 Under the agreement, UConn will specify the terms of the insurance and Seven Stars will pay the premium up to a total cost of $250,000. — Kathleen Megan, courant.com, "UConn Trustees Approve Sale Of West Hartford Campus to Financial Tech Company," 6 July 2018 Alade said the total cost of the project is $12 million to $15 million. — Joe Guillen, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit's showcase neighborhood project falls a year behind schedule," 3 July 2018 Privacy - Terms When complete, the estimated total cost of the project is approximately $274 million. — Kayla Fitzgerald, sacbee, "See what's being torn down at 12th and O. And what's going to go up there?," 3 July 2018 The United States currently pays 22 percent of NATO’s total costs, which in 2017 amounted to just under $2 billion. — Alex Ward, Vox, "NATO Summit 2018: Trump meets with world leaders in Brussels," 28 June 2018 Metro Atlanta’s total population stands at 5.8 million, while the Philadelphia metro area boasts a population of 6.1 million. — Alex Soderstrom, ajc, "Atlanta metro population on pace to pass Philadelphia as 8th largest," 23 June 2018 The Lions never could and finished the match with just one shot on target (eight shots total), despite 54.2 percent of the possession. — Jordan Culver, Pro Soccer USA, "Orlando City falls to Montreal Impact, extends seven-game MLS losing streak," 23 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

According to a spokeswoman, Trump was in Cairo for a grand total of six hours and didn’t sleep overnight at the hotel despite the large bill. — Stacey Leasca, Glamour, "The Hotel Bill for Melania Trump’s One-Day Cairo Visit? Only $95,000.," 2 Nov. 2018 Pour wine mixture into the measuring cup with pan juices and add enough low-sodium chicken broth to make 4 cups liquid total. — Woman's Day Test Kitchen, Woman's Day, "Rosemary Roasted-Turkey Gravy," 24 Oct. 2018 Musk stuck to his $35,000 number, but options could raise that total significantly. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "Watch Google's Pixel 3 Reveal Event Here, Live," 9 Oct. 2018 Game of Thrones leads the nominations with 22 total. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Why Are the Emmy Awards on a Monday Night This Year?," 17 Sep. 2018 Rihanna hosted her 4th annual Diamond Ball at Cipriani Wall Street in New York last night, and of course, her look was a total showstopper. — Isabel Greenberg, Harper's BAZAAR, "Rihanna Wore a Dramatic Lace Jumpsuit by Alexis Mabille To Her 4th Annual Diamond Ball," 14 Sep. 2018 With a total of 10 miles of trails, the adventure can be pretty daunting. — Peter Marteka, courant.com, "10 Miles Of Trails Open 7 Days A Week, 52 Weeks A Year. Sherman's Deer Pond Farm Makes Its Debut," 13 July 2018 Across her three studies, López worked with a total of about 100 climbers. — Ula Chrobak, Outside Online, "Climber Eva López Has a PhD in Finger Strength," 9 July 2018 Miscellany: Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored six goals in his last four matches and 11 total in his 14 games . . . — BostonGlobe.com, "Galaxy vs. Revolution," 14 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Political ad spending is on course to set a record, exceeding expenditures in the 2016 presidential election year, totaling up to $9 billion. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Recode Daily: Democrats take the House, San Francisco votes for a homelessness tax on big business," 7 Nov. 2018 Puerto Rico’s building industry is booming, fueled by federal disaster-relief dollars and insurance proceeds together projected to total $82 billion over time. — Julie Wernau, WSJ, "Rising Costs Feared to Crimp Puerto Rico’s Building Boom," 6 Nov. 2018 As a result, no wait seemed to total more than 20 minutes. — Lindsay Schallon, Glamour, "Inside Sephoria: Sephora's Fabulous, Glittery, Two-Day House Party," 22 Oct. 2018 In fact, defense spending would have had to total about $776 billion in 2017 (and even more in 2018) in order for the U.S. to have spent 4 percent of its GDP on defense. — Eugene Kiely, USA TODAY, "Fact check: President Trump’s defense spending exaggerations," 12 July 2018 In China, the burgeoning social-credit system aspires to total surveillance of citizens. — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, "What the Capital Gazette Shooting Reveals About Face Recognition," 29 June 2018 The Royals are last in baseball with 283 runs this year, on pace to total 573. — Maria Torres, kansascity, "Jorge Bonifacio is back from suspension. Can he help Royals' historically bad offense?," 28 June 2018 The Falcons built the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium after the city agreed to public financing that is likely to total $700 million over the next three decades. — J. Scott Trubey, ajc, "Texts show Bottoms and Atlanta schools negotiating Gulch incentives," 21 June 2018 The current fiscal year's spending plan calls for revenue to total $71.6 million and expenses to total $64.6 million, while in the previous fiscal year, revenue was $69.4 million and expenses were $56.7 million. — Barbara Henry, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Encinitas agrees to continue funding for temporary restrooms," 18 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

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 There were six styles total, ranging in price from $100 to $400—and, notably to many, featured the brand’s name, in lowercase, on the outside. — Halie Lesavage, Glamour, "How Kate Spade Built an Empire: A Timeline," 6 June 2018 Last season: 11-6, not ranked Postseason: IAAM A Conference semifinalist Outlook: The Cavaliers return six starters and nine players total from last year’s team that struggled in nonleague play but finished 8-2 in the A Conference. — C.j. Doon, baltimoresun.com, "2018 softball preseason Top 15 poll," 21 Mar. 2018 Her worldwide album sales total more than 40 million, a number significantly eclipsed by the number of her online streams. — George Varga, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Pink, 17 years into her solo career, bringing her 'Beautiful Trauma' and soaring show to San Diego," 22 May 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.