total

to|tal¹ W1S1 [ˈtəutl US ˈtou-] adj

[Date: 1300-1400; : Old French; Origin: Medieval Latin totalis, from Latin totus 'whole']

1.) [usually before noun]

complete, or as great as is possible

total failure/disaster

▪ The sales campaign was a total disaster.

▪ a total ban on cigarette advertising

▪ He looked at her with a total lack of comprehension.

▪ a sport that demands total commitment

2.) total number/amount/cost etc

the number, amount etc that is the total

▪ total sales of 200,000 per year

▪ Her total income was £10,000 a year.

total ²

total² W2S2 n

1.) the final number or amount of things, people etc when everything has been counted

▪ That's £7 and £3.50, so the total is £10.50.

a total of 20/100 etc

▪ A total of thirteen meetings were held to discuss the issue.

in total

▪ There were probably about 40 people there in total.

the sum total

(=the whole of an amount when everything is considered together)

2.) grand total

a) the final total, including all the totals added together

→↑subtotal

b) used humorously when you think the final total is small

▪ I earned a grand total of $4.15.

total ³

total³ v past tense and past participle totalled present participle totalling BrE past tense and past participle totaled present participle totaling AmE

1.) [linking verb, T]

to reach a particular total

▪ The group had losses totalling $3 million this year.

2.) [T] informal especially AmE to damage a car so badly that it cannot be repaired

▪ Chuck totaled his dad's new Toyota.

total up [total sth<=>up] phr v

to find the total number or total amount of something by adding

▪ At the end of the game, total up everyone's score to see who has won.