plural tallies
1
a
: a recorded reckoning or account (as of items or charges)
keep a daily tally of accidents
b
: a score or point made (as in a game)
2
: a device (such as a notched rod or mechanical counter) for visibly recording or accounting especially business transactions
3
a
: a part that corresponds to an opposite or companion member : complement
b
: a state of correspondence or agreement
tallied; tallying
1
a
: to record on or as if on a tally : tabulate
b
: to list or check off (something, such as a cargo) by items
c
: to register (a score) in a contest
2
: to make a count of : reckon
3
: to cause to correspond
1
a
: to make a tally by or as if by tabulating
b
: to register a point in a contest : score
2
: correspond, match
Synonyms
Examples of tally in a Sentence
Noun
What is the final tally?
Her second goal turned out to be the game-winning tally.
Verb
He tallied his expenses every day.
The numbers on the old list and the new list don't tally.
Recent Examples on the Web
Julie Wernau, WSJ, 29 Nov. 2023
Iceland’s government, for one, does not keep a tally.
—Sarah Hurtes, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2023
The move calls for a pause in fighting in a war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and — according to tallies from each side — has killed more than 14,270 people, mostly Palestinians.
—Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2023
The pic earned $4.7 million on Tuesday for a domestic tally of $39.2 million.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Nov. 2023
In 2005, 50 Cent led the year-end Billboard 200 Albums tally with The Massacre, coming hot on the heels of his 2003 win with Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 21 Nov. 2023
By winning in 10 categories, and Drizzy, 37, winning in five, the two A-listers both brought their tally of career wins up to 39.
—Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023
Across northern Gaza, hospitals have collapsed, leaving doctors and medical staff unable to conduct their own tallies of the dead.
—Loay Ayyoub, Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2023
Fort Lauderdale is already having its wettest year on record, and will likely add to its rainfall tally on Wednesday and Thursday.
—Kathryn Prociv, NBC News, 15 Nov. 2023
Evan Sidery, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
Worldwide, the singer tallied more than 26.1 billion streams, dethroning last year’s chart leader Bad Bunny, who landed in second place this year after finishing atop the chart the previous three years.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 30 Nov. 2023
Through the first three months of 2023, such thefts were on pace to tally more than $126.4 million.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Nov. 2023
The new movie would be the latest installment in the blockbuster franchise, which has tallied five films (four of which starred Matt Damon) and more than $1.6 billion at the box office.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 20 Nov. 2023
In reality, the three top candidates last month all tallied zero votes at nearly the same number of polling stations — roughly 100 each — not counting stations that recorded no votes at all.
—Lucía Cholakian Herrera, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023
Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Oct. 30 to Nov. 5, here.
—Billboard Japan, Billboard, 8 Nov. 2023
So far this year there have been 602 mass shootings across the country, according to Gun Violence Archive, which tallies the shootings and defines a mass shooting as a shooting in which four or more people are struck by gunfire, either fatally or non-fatally.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 14 Nov. 2023
The lack of fuel, in hospitals both in the north and in the south, has led to a breakdown in communication and made tallying the dead impossible.
—Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023
See More
Noun
Nearly 50,000 people in the U.S. lost their lives to suicide in 2022, according to a provisional tally from the National Center for Health Statistics.
—Julie Wernau, WSJ, 29 Nov. 2023
Iceland’s government, for one, does not keep a tally.
—Sarah Hurtes, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2023
The move calls for a pause in fighting in a war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and — according to tallies from each side — has killed more than 14,270 people, mostly Palestinians.
—Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2023
The pic earned $4.7 million on Tuesday for a domestic tally of $39.2 million.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Nov. 2023
In 2005, 50 Cent led the year-end Billboard 200 Albums tally with The Massacre, coming hot on the heels of his 2003 win with Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 21 Nov. 2023
By winning in 10 categories, and Drizzy, 37, winning in five, the two A-listers both brought their tally of career wins up to 39.
—Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023
Across northern Gaza, hospitals have collapsed, leaving doctors and medical staff unable to conduct their own tallies of the dead.
—Loay Ayyoub, Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2023
Fort Lauderdale is already having its wettest year on record, and will likely add to its rainfall tally on Wednesday and Thursday.
—Kathryn Prociv, NBC News, 15 Nov. 2023
Verb
In around three full games of action, Richardson tallied 713 total yards (577 passing, 136 rushing) and seven touchdowns.
—Evan Sidery, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
Worldwide, the singer tallied more than 26.1 billion streams, dethroning last year’s chart leader Bad Bunny, who landed in second place this year after finishing atop the chart the previous three years.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 30 Nov. 2023
Through the first three months of 2023, such thefts were on pace to tally more than $126.4 million.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Nov. 2023
The new movie would be the latest installment in the blockbuster franchise, which has tallied five films (four of which starred Matt Damon) and more than $1.6 billion at the box office.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 20 Nov. 2023
In reality, the three top candidates last month all tallied zero votes at nearly the same number of polling stations — roughly 100 each — not counting stations that recorded no votes at all.
—Lucía Cholakian Herrera, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023
Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Oct. 30 to Nov. 5, here.
—Billboard Japan, Billboard, 8 Nov. 2023
So far this year there have been 602 mass shootings across the country, according to Gun Violence Archive, which tallies the shootings and defines a mass shooting as a shooting in which four or more people are struck by gunfire, either fatally or non-fatally.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 14 Nov. 2023
The lack of fuel, in hospitals both in the north and in the south, has led to a breakdown in communication and made tallying the dead impossible.
—Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tally.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English talye, from Anglo-French talie, taille, in part from tailler to cut, measure, count; in part from Medieval Latin tallia, alteration of Latin talea plant cutting, thin piece of wood
First Known Use
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of tally was
in the 15th century
Articles Related to tally
Dictionary Entries Near tally
Cite this Entry
“Tally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tally. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
tally
1 of 2 noun
tal·ly
ˈtal-ē 
plural tallies
1
: a device for keeping a count
2
a
: a recorded account
b
: a total recorded
3
: a score or point made (as in a game)
tally
2 of 2 verb
tallied; tallying
More from Merriam-Webster on tally
Nglish: Translation of tally for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of tally for Arabic Speakers
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