Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

the amount you get when you add several numbers or amounts together; the final number of people or things when they have all been counted: The chain has closed 170 out of a total of420 stores, о The bank employs a total of80 000 staff. о The bank employs 80 000 staff in total, о The company posted a combined total of $2.4 billion in losses in the second and third quarters.

• verb [+ obj] (-II-, AmE also -I-)

to reach a particular total: Imports totalled $1.4 billion last year, о debts totalling around $4 billion

to add up the numbers of sth/sb and get a total: Daily balances are totalled at the bottom of the column.

(informal) {especially AmE) to damage a car very badly, so that it is not worth repairing it write sth off at write

'total 'cost of'ownership noun [u] (abbr TCO)(Accounting) a method of calculating the costs involved in buying and using a product or service which includes the cost of buying it and other costs such as ordering, delivering, keeping it in good condition, etc: The new system will give customers improved software performance and a lower total cost of ownership.

[C, usually sing.] an act of putting your hands or fingers on sth: All this information is available at the touch of a button (= by simply pressing a button).

[c] a small detail that is added to sth in order to improve it or make it complete: I spent the morning putting the finishing touches to the report.

ШИЗ be, get, keep, etc. in 'touch (with sb) to communicate with sb, especially by writing to them or telephoning them: III be in touch about the details next week, be, keep, etc. in 'touch (with sth) to know what is happening in a particular subject or area: It's vital to keep in touch with the latest innovations.

touch screennoun [c](IT) a computer screen which you touch with your finger or with a special pen (stylus) in particular places in order to give instructions to the computer: a handheld with a touch screen and stylus о touchscreen monitors/technology

'touch-typeverb [no obj] to type without looking at the keys of the keyboard

.tough 'love noun [u] (HR)

used to describe decisions made by senior managers that benefit the organization but may not help the employees

used to describe the situation when managers make employees aware of the fact that they are not working well and make them responsible for a path or direction that sb/sth is moving in: We want to improve morale and give all our employees a career track.

OILS,back on 'track going in the right direction again after a mistake, failure, etc: The project had fallen behind schedule, but now it's back on track, be on 'track to be doing the right thing in order to achieve a particular result: The group is on track to achieve its ambitious growth targets, keep/lose 'track of sth/sb to have/not have information about what is happening or where sth/sb is: The new system keeps track of where each product is until it is sold, be on the right/wrong 'track to be thinking or doing sth in the right/wrong way in order to achieve sth

a formal agreement between two or more countries: These fiscal measures are a clear breach of the EU treaty, о They failed to fulfil their obligations under the treaty.