tally up

Meanings

1. 1phrasephrasal verb

   To count or add numbers or items so you can find a final total.

   Grammar: Takes an object and can be split: tally up the scores or tally the scores up.

   Patterns

   • tally up something
   • tally something up

   The treasurer tallied up the donations at the end of the night.

   Can you tally the votes up while I make coffee?

   At the end of the game, we tallied up our points.

2. 2phrasephrasal verbinformal

   To add up as a total, often when counted together with other amounts.

   Grammar: No object here: the costs tallied up quickly; often followed by to.

   Patterns

   • something tallies up to something

   The small expenses tallied up to more than we expected.

   All the missed deadlines tallied up and caused concern.

   Her volunteer hours tallied up to over a thousand.

Word forms

Common combinations

tally up the votes

Officials began to tally up the votes after the polls closed.

tally up the costs

Let's tally up the costs before we book the trip.

tally up the score

The judges tallied up the score after the final round.

tally up the damage

Residents began to tally up the damage after the storm.

Synonyms and how they differ

add up

Add up is more general and used for any arithmetic, while tally up often involves counting separate marks, votes or scores.

total

Total is more formal and can be used on its own, whereas tally up is a relaxed spoken phrase.

count up

Count up stresses counting each item one by one, but tally up focuses on arriving at a running or final total.

Word family

tally noun

a running count of something

tally verb

to match or agree with something

tallier noun

a person who keeps a count

Commonly confused: tally up or tally with?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “tally up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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