tallys
B2Neutral to formal; common in business, sports, and data contexts.
Definition
Meaning
A current or final total, count, or score; a record of amounts or numbers.
A mark or score used for counting; a corresponding or agreeing item; to correspond or agree.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
As a noun, it refers to the count itself or the record of the count. As a verb, it means to count or to match/agree with something else.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Spelling: 'tally' is standard in both. The plural is 'tallies'. Usage is largely identical, though 'tally' as a verb meaning 'to correspond' might be slightly more common in UK administrative contexts.
Connotations
Neutral in both. Can imply official counting or scorekeeping.
Frequency
Similar frequency in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
tally (sth) (up)tally with sthtally sth against sthVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “tally ho!”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
The quarterly sales tally exceeded expectations.
Academic
The researcher kept a careful tally of observed behaviours.
Everyday
Can you keep a tally of how many people arrive?
Technical
The software generates a real-time tally of network requests.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The witness's statement did not tally with the CCTV footage.
- She began to tally up the day's receipts.
American English
- Your numbers need to tally with the invoice.
- He tallied the points on the scoreboard.
adjective
British English
- The tally clerk presented the final figures.
- They used a tally system for the votes.
American English
- Please use the tally column on the sheet.
- A tally counter was used for the inventory.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The teacher kept a tally of correct answers.
- What's the tally of people coming to the party?
- The final tally showed a clear winner.
- Your expenses must tally with the receipts you provide.
- We need to tally our results against the initial projections.
- A running tally was displayed throughout the competition.
- The anecdotal evidence tallied remarkably well with the statistical data.
- Discrepancies began to appear when they tried to tally the international trade figures.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a TALLY stick used historically for counting debts – a physical record of a total.
Conceptual Metaphor
ACCOUNTING IS RECKONING (to tally is to make an account or reckoning of things).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid confusing with 'story' (история). 'Tally' is specifically about counting, not narrating. The Russian 'подсчёт' or 'учёт' are closer concepts.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'tally' as a synonym for 'list' (it's a total, not the items themselves).
- Misspelling as 'taly' or 'tallys' (correct plural: tallies).
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'tally' LEAST appropriate?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is neutral. It is perfectly acceptable in everyday speech ('keep a tally') but also precise enough for formal, business, or technical contexts ('the official tally').
'Count' is the general action. 'Tally' often implies the process or the final result of counting, especially a running total or a score. A 'tally' is the recorded count.
Yes. It means both 'to count' (tally the votes) and 'to match or correspond' (his story tallies with mine).
The plural is 'tallies' (e.g., 'We compared the tallies from three different sources').