total

noun · adjective · verb

Simple meaning

A quantity get by the addition of a group of numbers.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tohtuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtoʊtəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

A quantity obtained by the addition of a group of numbers
An amount obtained by the addition of smaller amounts.
The whole amount

adjective

Entire; relating to the whole of something.
used as an intensifier
Complete; absolute.

verb

Add up in number or quantity
transitive
To add up; to calculate the sum of.
intransitive
To amount to; to add up to.
To equal a total of; to amount to.
transitiveusslang
To demolish; to wreck completely. (from total loss)

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A quantity obtained by the addition of a group of numbers

Used this way, total is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use total

“My son totaled our new car.”verb

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Whole / quantity

sum totaltotal numbertotal amounttotal value

Other combinations

total costtotal losstotal revenuetotal population

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

totallyadverbDerived adverb
To a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly').

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

total parenteral nutritionnounCompound term
Administration of a nutritionally adequate solution through a catheter into the vena cava.
total darknessnounCompound term
Total absence of light.
total aphasianounCompound term
Loss of all ability to communicate.
total depravitynounCompound term
The Calvinist doctrine that everyone is born in a state of corruption as a result of original sin.
total eclipsenounCompound term
An eclipse as seen from a place where the eclipsed body is completely obscured.
total heatnounCompound term
A thermodynamic quantity equal to the internal energy of a system plus the product of its volume and pressure.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.