subtotal
subtotal Lexical Profile
subtotal Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The total of one part of a larger group of numbers being added together, or an intermediate sum calculated before taxes, discounts, shipping, or additional charges are applied.
"Before sales tax and shipping fees were added, the subtotal for the office supplies came to just under two hundred dollars."
• verb
To calculate or amount to an intermediate sum or partial total of a set of numbers.
"The spreadsheet automatically subtotals the expenses for each department before calculating the annual budget."
• adjective
Less than total; partial, or nearly complete (used especially in medicine and surgery to describe the removal of most, but not all, of an organ or structure).
"The patient underwent a subtotal thyroidectomy to treat the enlarged gland while preserving a small portion of functional tissue."
Word Nuance & Usage
In American English, the past tense and present participle of the verb are spelled with a single 'l' (subtotaled, subtotaling), whereas in British English the 'l' is doubled (subtotalled, subtotalling). Additionally, while 'subtotal' in accounting refers to a partial sum, in medicine and surgery it is used as an adjective meaning nearly complete (as in a subtotal thyroidectomy).
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the early 20th century, formed in English by combining the Latin-derived prefix sub- ('under' or 'less than') with 'total' (from Medieval Latin totalis, meaning 'entire' or 'whole').