Altogether

How to spell altogether

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce altogether

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does altogether mean?

1. adverbCompletely, wholly, or entirely.
2. adverbTaking everything into account; in total.
3. adverbConsidering everything; on the whole.

Altogether in a sentence

• The heating broke down and stopped working altogether.

• The repairs and the parts came to four hundred pounds altogether.

• Altogether, the conference was a worthwhile use of the week.

• After the redundancy she gave up commuting altogether.

• There were twelve applicants altogether for the single post.

• The move was expensive, but altogether it improved their finances.

Where does altogether come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is a thoroughly native English formation, built simply from 'all' joined to 'together'. The second element traces back to the Old English togædere, which literally meant 'into one gathering' and was related to gador, the root that also gives us 'gather'. By the time of Middle English the phrase 'al togedere' was being written as a single word to express the sense of 'completely' or 'wholly', distinct from the literal idea of people being grouped in one place. That single drop of the second 'l' is the heart of the modern spelling trap: 'altogether' (one word, meaning 'entirely' or 'in total') sits alongside the still-valid two-word phrase 'all together' (everyone in one place), and writers must choose between them by meaning. The word has carried its 'completely' and 'on the whole' senses steadily since the 1300s, and its everyday relatives 'gather' and 'gathering' still show the shared Germanic ancestry.

How the word is built

• al- (reduced form of 'all')
• together (Old English togædere: 'into a group, joined')