/ ˈtəʊtl; NAmE ˈtoʊtl/ adjective , noun , verb
■ adjective [ usually before noun ]
1.
being the amount or number after everyone or everything is counted or added together :
the total profit
This brought the total number of accidents so far this year to 113.
The club has a total membership of 300.
2.
including everything
SYN complete :
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!
■ noun
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 :
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.
The repairs came to over £500 in total (= including everything) .
—see also grand total , running total , sum total
■ verb ( -ll- , US also -l- )
1.
[ v - n ] to reach a particular total :
Imports totalled $1.5 billion last year.
2.
[ vn ] total sth/sb (up) to add up the numbers of sth/sb and get a total :
Each student's points were totalled and entered in a list.
3.
[ vn ] ( informal , especially NAmE ) to damage a car very badly, so that it is not worth repairing it
—see also write sth off
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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.