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
William Tong, Dallas Morning News, 20 Mar. 2026
Despite the official estimate, some analysts believe the total cost of the Golden Dome program could rise significantly over time.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 19 Mar. 2026
Darin Oswald, Idaho Statesman, 25 Mar. 2026
Each count involved three victims, for a total of six victims.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 24 Mar. 2026
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2026
From 2021 through 2024, city officials signed into seven contracts — and one contract amendment — with Washington’s organization, totaling roughly $287,000.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2026
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
In 2025, Texas led the nation in total debt collection complaints, according to data from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau — a federal agency tasked with enforcing consumer protection laws.
—William Tong, Dallas Morning News, 20 Mar. 2026
Despite the official estimate, some analysts believe the total cost of the Golden Dome program could rise significantly over time.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 19 Mar. 2026
Noun
Fely reached the 40-rep mark, but two were deemed not to have reached full extension and were subtracted from his total.
—Darin Oswald, Idaho Statesman, 25 Mar. 2026
Each count involved three victims, for a total of six victims.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 24 Mar. 2026
Verb
In the first half, Adebayo totaled just two points on 1-of-9 shooting from the field and 0-of-5 shooting on threes.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2026
From 2021 through 2024, city officials signed into seven contracts — and one contract amendment — with Washington’s organization, totaling roughly $287,000.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2026
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 27 Mar. 2026.
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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