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
Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Sep. 2025
Sunderland, who played in total 65 minutes with 10 men after Reinildo Mandava’s first-half dismissal, celebrated a point that felt much larger.
—Michael Walker, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
Allison Tibaldi, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
Tropical Depression Nine is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 8 to 12 inches, with isolated maximum totals of 16 inches in eastern Cuba, and 4 to 8 inches of rain in the Bahamas.
—Miami Herald Hurricane Bot, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Lester Smith, who had been working at Abbey Road since 1970, was the keeper of Abbey Road’s microphone collection, which then totaled eight hundred–plus — all of them kept in good repair and still used to this day.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 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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Adjective
The project, according to its environmental analysis, will have 7,040 total parking spaces that are spread across multiple structures within residential and mixed-use buildings.
—Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Sep. 2025
Sunderland, who played in total 65 minutes with 10 men after Reinildo Mandava’s first-half dismissal, celebrated a point that felt much larger.
—Michael Walker, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
Noun
Surrounded by turquoise Caribbean waters along a sandy white beach, a total of six individual resorts (including one that's adults-only) make up the Barceló Maya Grand Resort for a total of more than 3,500 rooms and suites.
—Allison Tibaldi, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
Tropical Depression Nine is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 8 to 12 inches, with isolated maximum totals of 16 inches in eastern Cuba, and 4 to 8 inches of rain in the Bahamas.
—Miami Herald Hurricane Bot, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
Verb
Starlink satellites to SpaceX's megaconstellation, which now totals more than 8,500 active units.
—Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Lester Smith, who had been working at Abbey Road since 1970, was the keeper of Abbey Road’s microphone collection, which then totaled eight hundred–plus — all of them kept in good repair and still used to this day.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 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 Sep. 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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