ENGLISH
REFERENCE

total

n. countable
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //ˈtoʊtəɫ// UK //tˈəʊtəl// to·tal General-service Informal Slang

n. the final amount you get when you add everything together. It is the whole number or sum of several parts.

n. the whole amount or sum of several parts added together. Often used in financial or mathematical contexts to represent the final result of a calculation.


SIMPLE

The total for the groceries is fifty dollars.

CONTEXTUAL

After adding up the costs of the flights and the hotel, the total was much higher than we expected.

COMPLEX

While the individual components of the budget seemed manageable, the grand total revealed a significant deficit that required immediate attention from the board.

Synonyms
Origin

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.

Usage

Commonly used with the definite article 'the' and often followed by the preposition 'of'.

Idioms2 entries

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