Is it altogether or all together?
Both of these expressions exist in British English. They do, however, have different meanings and are commonly mixed up.
Altogether
This means ‘entirely’, ‘completely’, ‘utterly’, ‘all told’, ‘all in all’ and ‘with everything considered’.
Examples:
- Altogether, there were 50 of them.
- They were altogether different from usual.
- He had an altogether odd view of the world of grammar.
All together
This means several things or people have been brought together.
Examples:
- The workers met all together in one room.
- The countries’ people were standing all together.