total
total
/ˈtəʊtl/
1 being the amount or number after everyone or everything is counted or added together
Their total cost was $18 000.
This brought the total number of accidents so far this year to 113.
The club has a total membership of 300.
the total profit/sales/revenue/income/expenditure/value
Try to cut down on the total amount of fat that you eat.
The total student population at Cambridge University is around 13,000 students.
2 used when you are emphasizing something, to mean ‘to the greatest degree possible’
The room was in total darkness.
They wanted a total ban on handguns.
The evening was a total disaster.
I can't believe you'd tell a total stranger about it!
These comments indicate a total lack of understanding.
They lived with an almost total lack of information about what was happening.
She maintained total artistic control over a project.
I always expect total honesty from my employees.
She was a total mystery to him despite their long association.
Six years of total war had left no citizen untouched.
The emperor demanded total submission from his subjects.
The game ended in a total rout.
There was a look of total concentration on her face.
They were to surrender immediately or face total annihilation.
total
/ˈtəʊtl/
the amount you get when you add several numbers or amounts together; the final number of people or things when they have all been counted
a total of something You got 47 points on the written examination and 18 on the oral, making a total of 65.
His businesses are worth a combined total of $3 billion.
Out of a total of 15 games, they only won 2.
He was jailed for a total of six months.
in total The repairs came to over £500 in total (= including everything).
The number of employees has tripled, bringing the total to 400.
Rainfall totals for the month were below normal.
The UK had the largest share of the European art market - 56% of the total.
SEE ALSO grand total, running total, sum total
180 vehicles out of a total of 900 examined were not roadworthy.
A donation of $250 has been received, bringing the total to $3 750.
Britain's jobless total rose by 20 000 last month.
He won a career total of 19 gold medals.
In total, they spent 420 hours on the project.
The Greens achieved a total of 18 seats.
Collocations
adjective
verb + total
add up to
total + verb
preposition
in total
out of a total of
total of
total
/ˈtəʊtl/
1 total something to reach a particular total
Imports totalled $1.5 billion last year.
In 2005–6, college enrolments totalled some 5 400.
2 total something/somebody (up) to add up the numbers of something/somebody and get a total
Each student's points were totalled and entered in a list.
3 total something (especially North American English, informal) to damage a car very badly, so that it is not worth repairing it
She never forgave him for totaling her car.
Word Origin
late Middle English: via Old French from medieval Latin totalis, from totum ‘the whole’, neuter of Latin totus ‘whole, entire’. The verb, at first in the sense ‘add up’, dates from the late 16th cent.