# altogether

/ˌɔɫtəˈɡɛðɝ/ (US) · /ˌɔːltəɡˈɛðɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/altogether
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. completely

adverb · CEFR B1

completely or totally.

For teachers: to a complete or total degree; entirely.

- The train stopped altogether and we had to wait for an hour.
- The project was abandoned altogether after the primary investors withdrew their support during the second quarter.

### 2. in total

adverb · CEFR B1

including everything or everyone.

For teachers: with everything included in a final count or sum.

- There were fifteen people at the dinner party altogether.
- Altogether, the renovation cost nearly twice the original estimate, forcing the family to delay their holiday plans.

### 3. considering everything

adverb · CEFR B2

used to give a general opinion after thinking about all the details.

For teachers: taking everything into consideration; on the whole.

- It was a difficult journey, but altogether a great experience.
- Altogether, the performance was a success, despite the technical difficulties that plagued the opening scene.

### 4. naked

noun · CEFR C2 · Informal · British English

a way to say someone is not wearing any clothes.

For teachers: a state of nakedness; almost exclusively used in the phrase 'in the altogether'.

- The artist preferred to paint his subjects in the altogether.
- The vintage photograph depicted several swimmers posing in the altogether by a secluded lake in the mountains.

Usage: Usually occurs as the object of the preposition 'in'.

Teaching tip: This is a humorous or euphemistic way to say 'naked' and is becoming less common in modern speech.

## Examples

- The two situations are altogether different.
- After three failed attempts to fix the old car, he decided to stop driving it altogether.
- While the individual components of the plan were sound, the project failed because the team lacked an altogether cohesive strategy for implementation.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.