What does tallied mean?
To tally is to count or calculate a total, either by making a careful record of individual items or by adding amounts together. The verb is especially common in reporting votes, sales, costs, injuries, and other measurable quantities. "The candidates tallied more than 90 percent of the vote" describes a final total, while "the donations tallied to $50,000" indicates that the combined amount reached that figure. The word conveys accuracy and an emphasis on the final count rather than the process used to obtain it. Although usually associated with official record-keeping, it is equally natural in ordinary conversation. Its history is preserved in the image of a tally stick, a notched piece of wood historically used to record accounts or transactions.
To count, calculate, or record the total number or amount of something; to reach a specified total.
"Volunteers tallied the donations and reported the final amount."
The construction "tally to" is especially common when stating the final amount reached.
Marked or included in a count or total.
"The committee compared the tallied votes before announcing the result."
This participial use is less common than the verb and is chiefly formal or reporting-oriented.
Before written accounts were commonplace, merchants used notched tally sticks to keep accurate records of transactions.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tallied come from?
The word derives from "tally," which originally referred to a notched stick used for keeping accounts. Its verb sense developed from making such marks and later broadened to mean counting items or calculating a total. "Tallied" is the past tense and past participle of that verb, formed by adding "-ed" to the base form.
Related word forms
How tallied is actually used
In its second sense, the verb is often followed by a number and the word "to," as in "tallied to more than 10,000." The expression "tally up" is common in both formal reporting and informal speech.