WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
tal•ly /ˈtæli/USA pronunciation
n., pl. -lies, v., -lied, -ly•ing.
n. [countable]
v.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026n. [countable]
- a number counted or recorded;
a reckoning.
v.
- to mark on a tally;
record;
count:[~ + object]to tally the results. - to (cause to) correspond or agree: [no object]Both accounts tally.[~ + object]to tally the accounts.
- to score a point or goal, as in a game: [~ + object]He tallied his last three points in the final minute of the game.[no object]The team failed to tally in the last minute of the game.
tal•ly
(tal′ē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -lies, v., -lied, -ly•ing.
n.
v.t.
v.i.
tal′li•er, n.
n.
- an account or reckoning;
a record of debit and credit, of the score of a game, or the like. - Also called tal′ly stick′. a stick of wood with notches cut to indicate the amount of a debt or payment, often split lengthwise across the notches, the debtor retaining one piece and the creditor the other.
- anything on which a score or account is kept.
- a notch or mark made on or in a tally.
- a number or group of items recorded.
- a mark made to register a certain number of items, as four consecutive vertical lines with a diagonal line through them to indicate a group of five.
- a number of objects serving as a unit of computation.
- a ticket, label, or mark used as a means of identification, classification, etc.
- anything corresponding to another thing as a counterpart or duplicate.
v.t.
- to mark or enter on a tally;
register;
record. - to count or reckon up.
- to furnish with a tally or identifying label.
- to cause to correspond or agree.
v.i.
- to correspond, as one part of a tally with the other;
accord or agree:Does his story tally with hers? - to score a point or make a goal, as in a game.
- Medieval Latin talia, variant of Latin tālea rod, cutting, literally, heel-piece, derivative of tālus heel; (verb, verbal) late Middle English talyen, derivative of the noun, nominal
- (noun, nominal) Middle English taly 1275–1325
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged inventory, count, enumeration.
- 10.See corresponding entry in Unabridged enroll, list.
- 11.See corresponding entry in Unabridged enumerate, calculate.