total
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.the final amount you get when you add smaller amounts together.
n.the aggregate amount resulting from the addition of several smaller quantities.
Simple“The total for the groceries came to forty dollars.”
In context“After calculating the overhead costs and the initial investment, the total exceeded our original budget by nearly ten percent.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
adj.complete and including everything; used to emphasize how much of something there is.
adj.complete, absolute, or unqualified in extent or degree.
Simple“The party was a total disaster because nobody showed up.”
In context“The witness provided a total rejection of the prosecution's claims, insisting that he had been elsewhere during the incident.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
v.to reach a specific number when added together.
v.to amount to a specific sum or number. Often used as a linking verb.
Simple“The donations from the bake sale total over five hundred dollars.”
In context“The losses incurred during the fiscal year total more than the company's entire liquid assets.”
Synonymsamount toequal - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to add several numbers together to find the final amount.
v.to determine the sum of a set of numbers or quantities. Transitive use.
Simple“She totaled the receipts at the end of the day.”
In context“The accountant spent the afternoon totaling the expenses from the international branch to prepare the quarterly report.”
- 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to damage a vehicle so badly that it cannot be repaired.
v.to damage a vehicle beyond the point of economical repair; derived from the insurance term 'total loss'.
Simple“He was lucky to walk away after he totaled his car in the accident.”
In context“The insurance adjuster confirmed that the frame was bent, meaning the vehicle was officially totaled and would be sent to the scrap yard.”
- 06 C2 Proficiency
adj.describing a system where every single item can be compared to another.
adj.relating to a set in which every pair of elements is comparable under a specific relation.
Simple“In a total order, you can always say if one number is bigger than another.”
In context“The real numbers constitute a total ordering because for any two distinct values, one must strictly exceed the other.”
Antonyms
Usage total solar · total eclipse · total number
From Middle English total, from Old French total, from Medieval Latin tōtālis, from tōtus (“all, whole, entire”) + -ālis, the former element of unknown origin. Perhaps related to Oscan touto (“community, city-state”), Umbrian 𐌕𐌏𐌕𐌀𐌌 (totam, “tribe”, acc.), Old English þēod (“a nation, people, tribe”), from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂ (“people”). More at English Dutch, English thede.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.