# total

/ˈtoʊtəɫ/ (US) · /tˈəʊtəl/ (UK)

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

## Senses

### 1. the sum

noun · CEFR A2

the final amount you get when you add smaller amounts together.

For teachers: the aggregate amount resulting from the addition of several smaller quantities.

- The total for the groceries came to forty dollars.
- After calculating the overhead costs and the initial investment, the total exceeded our original budget by nearly ten percent.

### 2. complete or absolute

adjective · CEFR B1

complete and including everything; used to emphasize how much of something there is.

For teachers: complete, absolute, or unqualified in extent or degree.

- The party was a total disaster because nobody showed up.
- The witness provided a total rejection of the prosecution's claims, insisting that he had been elsewhere during the incident.

### 3. to add up to

verb · CEFR B1

to reach a specific number when added together.

For teachers: to amount to a specific sum or number. Often used as a linking verb.

- The donations from the bake sale total over five hundred dollars.
- The losses incurred during the fiscal year total more than the company's entire liquid assets.

### 4. to calculate the sum

verb · CEFR B2

to add several numbers together to find the final amount.

For teachers: to determine the sum of a set of numbers or quantities. Transitive use.

- She totaled the receipts at the end of the day.
- The accountant spent the afternoon totaling the expenses from the international branch to prepare the quarterly report.

### 5. to wreck completely

verb · CEFR B2 · American English · Informal · Slang

to damage a vehicle so badly that it cannot be repaired.

For teachers: to damage a vehicle beyond the point of economical repair; derived from the insurance term 'total loss'.

- He was lucky to walk away after he totaled his car in the accident.
- The insurance adjuster confirmed that the frame was bent, meaning the vehicle was officially totaled and would be sent to the scrap yard.

### 6. mathematical ordering

adjective · CEFR C2 · Technical

describing a system where every single item can be compared to another.

For teachers: relating to a set in which every pair of elements is comparable under a specific relation.

- In a total order, you can always say if one number is bigger than another.
- The real numbers constitute a total ordering because for any two distinct values, one must strictly exceed the other.

## Examples

- The total for the groceries is fifty dollars.
- After adding up the costs of the flights and the hotel, the total was much higher than we expected.
- While the individual components of the budget seemed manageable, the grand total revealed a significant deficit that required immediate attention from the board.

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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.