total (totals plural & 3rd person present) (totalling present participle) (totalled past tense & past participle )
1 n-count A total is the number that you get when you add several numbers together or when you count how many things there are in a group.
The companies have a total of 1,776 employees.
2 adj The total number or cost of something is the number or cost that you get when you add together or count all the parts in it.
ADJ n
The total cost of the project would be more than $240 million.
3 If there are a number of things in total, there are that number when you count or add them all together.
♦
in total phrase PHR after v, PHR with cl, amount PHR
I was with my husband for eight years in total...
4 verb If several numbers or things total a certain figure, that figure is the total of all the numbers or all the things.
The unit's exports will total V amount 85 million this year...
5 verb When you total a set of numbers or objects, you add them all together.
They haven't totalled the exact figures. V n
6 adj You can use total to emphasize that something is as great in extent, degree, or amount as it possibly can be.
usu ADJ n (emphasis)
(=complete)
Why should we trust a total stranger?...
♦
totally adv ADV adj/adv, ADV with v
(=completely)
Young people want something totally different from the old ways...