What does totalled mean?
“Totalled” is chiefly the British past tense and past participle of “total.” As a verb, it can mean either to calculate the sum of a collection of figures or to add up to a particular amount: “The repairs totalled £5,000.” In the latter use, “totalled” commonly appears with figures or amounts and has a concise, report-like tone, although it is ordinary in British English. It can also be used adjectivally before a noun, as in “the totalled cost,” meaning the amount considered as a whole. American English usually spells the verb “totaled” with one “l,” but “totalled” is readily understood. The word is useful whenever the focus is the final aggregate rather than the individual items that make it up.
To calculate the sum of numbers, costs, or items; also, to add up to a stated amount.
"The accounts department totalled the expenditure for each department."
The past tense and past participle are used in both British and American English, although British spelling normally doubles the final “l.”
Existing or expressed as a complete total.
"The totalled losses were considerably higher than expected."
This adjectival use is especially associated with British English and formal or report-style contexts.
One doubled “l” marks the word as British: American English usually spells it “totaled.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does totalled come from?
The word descends from “total,” which entered English in the late 16th century from French, ultimately from Medieval Latin totalis, meaning “complete” or “whole,” and Latin totus, meaning “whole” or “all.” The British past-tense and past-participle spelling doubles the final consonant in “-ed,” while American spelling commonly retains only one “l.” “Totality,” “totally,” and “totalize” continue the same Latin root.
How totalled is actually used
“Totalled” is standard in British English, while American English normally uses “totaled.” The verb is especially common in financial, administrative, and news reporting, but its use is not restricted to formal contexts.
Easily confused with totalled
“Totalled” means calculated or amounted as a whole, whereas “toted” means carried or transported.