totaliser

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableBritish

   A machine or system that shows the total amount of money bet on a race and calculates the payout for each winning ticket.

   Grammar: Countable noun: you can say 'a totaliser' or 'the totaliser'. Often used with 'the' when referring to the machine at a racecourse.

   Patterns

   • the totaliser shows something
   • money on the totaliser
   • check the totaliser

   The totaliser showed that over a million pounds had been bet on the race.

   She checked the totaliser to see how much her winning ticket would pay.

   At the dog track, the totaliser is updated continuously as new bets come in.

2. 2nouncountableAmericantechnical

   A device that adds up numbers or quantities automatically, especially one that displays a running total.

   Grammar: Countable noun. This sense is more common in American English (spelled totalizer) and in technical contexts.

   Patterns

   • a totaliser counts something
   • use a totaliser to add something
   • digital totaliser

   The factory uses a totaliser to count the number of bottles produced each day.

   A mechanical totaliser on the machine keeps a running total of the output.

   The new software includes a totaliser that sums up all the expenses automatically.

Word forms

Common combinations

the totaliser board

The totaliser board displayed the odds for each horse.

on the totaliser

The odds are shown on the totaliser above the betting windows.

totaliser machine

He fed his ticket into the totaliser machine to check his winnings.

totaliser betting

Totaliser betting is common at British racecourses.

electronic totaliser

The electronic totaliser replaced the old mechanical one last year.

Synonyms and how they differ

Tote

Tote is the informal British name for the totaliser system, often used in the phrase 'the Tote'. It can also refer to the organization that runs it.

adding machine

An adding machine is a general device for adding numbers, not specifically for betting. It fits the second sense of totaliser better.

Word family

total noun

The whole amount or sum.

totalize verb

To add up or combine into a total (American spelling; British spelling is totalise).

totalizer noun

American spelling of totaliser.

Commonly confused: totaliser or totalitarian?

Practice

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