ALTOGETHER Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

altogether

[ awl-tuh-geth-er, awl-tuh-geth-er ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adverb

wholly; entirely; completely; quite:
altogether fitting.
Synonyms: , ,
with all or everything included:
The debt amounted altogether to twenty dollars.
with everything considered; on the whole:
Altogether, I'm glad it's over.

altogether

/ ˌɔːltəˈɡɛðə; ˈɔːltəˌɡɛðə /

adverb

with everything included
altogether he owed me sixty pounds
completely; utterly; totally
he was altogether mad
on the whole
altogether it was a very good party

noun

in the altogether informal.
naked

Discover More

Confusables Note

The forms altogether and all together, though often indistinguishable in speech, are distinct in meaning. The adverb altogether means “wholly, entirely, completely”: an altogether confused scene. The phrase all together means “in a group”: The children were all together in the kitchen. The word all can be omitted without seriously affecting the meaning: The children were together in the kitchen.

Discover More

51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of altogether¹

First recorded in 1125–75; variant of Middle English altogeder; all, together

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

in the altogether, Informal. nude ( def 1 ):
When the phone rang she had just stepped out of the bathtub and was in the altogether.

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

It might change how you think about condiments altogether.

From

Theirs is not a wholly furtive relationship, but it is not altogether an open one either.

From

“Death of a Unicorn” is so certain that its audience will care more about the paltry laughs it can draw out of its Sackler spoofs that the finished film feels altogether smug.

From

A 34% price increase on all US goods entering the country will knock some out of here altogether.

From

Viewers flagged Fox News’s termination of a live stock ticker altogether midday on Thursday, shortly before Trump said his tariff plan was “going very well.”

From

Related 51�Թ�s

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Browse