adj. 1
Entire; relating to the whole of something.
The total book is rubbish from start to finish. The total number of votes cast is 3,270.
v. 1
To demolish; to wreck completely. (from total loss)
Honey, I’m OK, but I’ve totaled the car.
v. 2
To add up; to calculate the sum of.
When we totalled the takings, we always got a different figure.
n. 1
An amount obtained by the addition of smaller amounts.
A total of £145 was raised by the bring-and-buy stall.

Related words

Phrases: sum total total recall total loss total order total package right total total ordering relation in total

Forms

Plural: totals → aggregates, totalities…
Past participle: totaled
e.g. totaled → summed, tallied, added, totted…

Choose the right word

or Total?

When we use the word total, we have reference to all as taken together, and forming a single totality; as, the total amount; the total income. Lest total darkness should by night regain Her old possession, and extinguish life.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Example sentences

whole I spent the whole afternoon chatting with friends.
entire You won't be let down if you read the entire book.
absolute It's an absolute waste of time to wait any longer.
utter Everything you've told me so far was an utter lie.
teetotal I choose not to drink alcohol. I am teetotal.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
total		falling
whole		steady
entire		steady
absolute		steady
utter		rising
teetotal		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: all¹, add¹, sum¹, tot¹
4 letters: make¹, come¹, full¹, cast¹, pure¹, rank¹
5 letters: whole¹, gross¹, trash¹, sheer¹, wreck¹, utter², tally², pyore
6 letters: number², entire³, amount², proper²
7 letters: perfect², regular³, overall³, summate
8 letters: complete², absolute³, thorough², outright², demolish³, totality⁴, teetotal, totalize, totalise
9 letters: wholesale², aggregate³
10 letters: unreserved
11 letters: unmitigated⁵

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (utter² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: total
Italiano: totale
Español: total
Deutsch: total