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
Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Oct. 2025
At least two homes have been deemed a total loss, and nearly 100 others were damaged by weekend floodwaters, according to La Plata County officials.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2025
Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 12 Oct. 2025
The specifics of that arrangement are unknown, though Bloomberg reported the total brought forward was £90million.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
Remarkably, the Jets had only been able to total one yard on offense and had no first downs midway through the second quarter, with 13 rush yards and minus 12 passing yards on their first four drives of the game.
—Ben Morse, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 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
Meanwhile, former Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle combined for 239 total yards for the Panthers (183 rushing, 56 receiving) a week after exploding for 234 total yards (206 rushing, 28 receiving) in a win over Miami.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Oct. 2025
At least two homes have been deemed a total loss, and nearly 100 others were damaged by weekend floodwaters, according to La Plata County officials.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2025
Noun
In piling up a season-high point total, the Hornets produced three 100-yard rushers to steamroll the Wildcats, the first such feat for Sac State in a single game for a program that fielded its first team in 1954.
—Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 12 Oct. 2025
The specifics of that arrangement are unknown, though Bloomberg reported the total brought forward was £90million.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Verb
Invoice records show that Gatlin made six payments totaling $17,400 for her membership to CHIEF between 2021 and 2025.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
Remarkably, the Jets had only been able to total one yard on offense and had no first downs midway through the second quarter, with 13 rush yards and minus 12 passing yards on their first four drives of the game.
—Ben Morse, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 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 15 Oct. 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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