altogether
Americanadverb
-
wholly; entirely; completely; quite.
altogether fitting.
- Synonyms:
- absolutely, totally, utterly
-
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.
idioms
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
Commonly Confused
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.
Etymology
Origin of altogether
First recorded in 1125–75; variant of Middle English altogeder; see all, together
Explanation
If you're altogether certain, you know it for a fact. Since you're altogether sure that your calculations are correct, go ahead with the experiment. Please wear your goggles just in case. Never use “all together” (meaning “all in one place”) when you mean altogether (which can also mean "all things considered"). It was risky to bring us all together again after so many years, but you have to admit that altogether we had a good time. Altogether, it could have been worse. It wasn't altogether bad. I suppose we won't do it again next year.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This would enable many to pay rent when faced with a crisis that threatens a loss of housing, thereby avoiding homelessness altogether.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
At a time when people are already struggling with the cost of living, she says that risks "locking people out of care altogether" and is why ministers must urgently reform the "broken NHS system".
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
Mixing languid conversations with pop spectacle, Lowery finds a middle ground that looks altogether human, with every impulse, bad and good, opening another door to the truth.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
"The stock market has been climbing a wall of worry and has been able to rally on stronger earnings and stable interest rates, but a rising rate environment is another thing altogether."
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
We knew that anyone and everyone who saw us or met up with us was a danger to us, but we could not avoid them altogether, however hard we tried.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
