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
Brittany Lubeck, Verywell Health, 22 Dec. 2025
During that time, total patients served nationwide dropped about 17%, from 139,434 to 116,320, with state approaches varying widely, from adding community services and building more beds to closing hospitals.
—Sarah Jane Tribble, NPR, 22 Dec. 2025
Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 27 Dec. 2025
Ellis recommends storing away candles in this genius coffee mug storage box that has two layers and a total of 24 storage slots.
—Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Dec. 2025
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025
Box office numbers are still well behind 2019, when domestic earnings totaled more than $11 billion.
—Auzinea Bacon, CNN Money, 28 Dec. 2025
Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 27 Aug. 2025
Hot 100 and 45 weeks total on the chart.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for total
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
In general, 10-35% of your total daily calories ideally would come from protein.
—Brittany Lubeck, Verywell Health, 22 Dec. 2025
During that time, total patients served nationwide dropped about 17%, from 139,434 to 116,320, with state approaches varying widely, from adding community services and building more beds to closing hospitals.
—Sarah Jane Tribble, NPR, 22 Dec. 2025
Noun
Around 975 mm of rain fell on some places in one day – the highest ever 24-hour total reliably measured in Australia.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 27 Dec. 2025
Ellis recommends storing away candles in this genius coffee mug storage box that has two layers and a total of 24 storage slots.
—Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Dec. 2025
Verb
Jaquez was a force, totaling 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field, 1-of-1 shooting on threes and 5-of-5 shooting from the foul line, six rebounds and three assists in the win.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025
Box office numbers are still well behind 2019, when domestic earnings totaled more than $11 billion.
—Auzinea Bacon, CNN Money, 28 Dec. 2025
Adverb
Collecting three weeks total atop the Billboard 200, Eternal Sunshine got a second life earlier this year with a deluxe edition released a few months after the November premiere of Wicked.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 27 Aug. 2025
Hot 100 and 45 weeks total on the chart.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for total
Cite this Entry
“Total.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/total. Accessed 29 Dec. 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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