whole

[ hohl ]

/ hoʊl /

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adjective

comprising the full quantity, amount, extent, number, etc., without diminution or exception; entire, full, or total: He ate the whole pie. They ran the whole distance.

containing all the elements properly belonging; complete: We have a whole set of antique china.

undivided; in one piece: to swallow a thing whole.

Mathematics. integral, or not fractional.

not broken, damaged, or impaired; intact: Thankfully, the vase arrived whole.

uninjured or unharmed; sound: He was surprised to find himself whole after the crash.

pertaining to all aspects of human nature, especially one's physical, intellectual, and spiritual development: education for the whole person.

noun

the whole assemblage of parts or elements belonging to a thing; the entire quantity, account, extent, or number: He accepted some of the parts but rejected the whole.

a thing complete in itself, or comprising all its parts or elements.

an assemblage of parts associated or viewed together as one thing; a unitary system.

Nearby words

whoa, whodunit, whodunnit, whoe'er, whoever, whole, whole ball of wax, the, whole blood, whole brother, whole cloth, whole gale

Idioms

as a whole, all things included or considered; altogether: As a whole, the relocation seems to have been beneficial.

on/upon the whole,

in view of all the circumstances; after consideration.
disregarding exceptions; in general: On the whole, the neighborhood is improving.

out of whole cloth, without foundation in fact; fictitious: a story made out of whole cloth.

Origin of whole

before 900; Middle English hole, hool (adj. and noun), Old English hāl (adj.); cognate with Dutch heel, German heil, Old Norse heill; see hale¹, heal; spelling with w reflects dial. form

SYNONYMS FOR whole

1 undiminished, integral, complete.

5 unimpaired, perfect.

8 totality, aggregate. Whole, total mean the entire or complete sum or amount. The whole is all there is; every part, member, aspect; the complete sum, amount, quantity of anything, not divided; the entirety: the whole of one's property, family. Total also means whole, complete amount, or number, but conveys the idea of something added together or added up: The total of their gains amounted to millions.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR whole ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR whole

1 partial.

8 part.

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Related formswhole·ness, nounself-whole, adjective

Can be confusedhole whole (see synonym study at hole) (see synonym study at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for as a whole

whole

/ (həʊl) /

adjective

containing all the component parts necessary to form a total; completea whole apple

constituting the full quantity, extent, etc

uninjured or undamaged

healthy

having no fractional or decimal part; integrala whole number

of, relating to, or designating a relationship established by descent from the same parents; fullwhole brothers

out of whole cloth US and Canadian informal entirely without a factual basis

adverb

in an undivided or unbroken pieceto swallow a plum whole

noun

all the parts, elements, etc, of a thing

an assemblage of parts viewed together as a unit

a thing complete in itself

as a whole considered altogether; completely

on the whole

taking all things into consideration
in general

Derived Formswholeness, noun

Word Origin for whole

Old English hāl, hǣl; related to Old Frisian hāl, hēl, Old High German heil, Gothic hails; compare hale 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for as a whole (1 of 2)

whole

"entire body or company; the full amount," late 14c., from whole (adj.).

Word Origin and History for as a whole (1 of 2)

whole

adj.

Old English hal "entire, unhurt, healthy," from Proto-Germanic *khailaz "undamaged" (cf. Old Saxon hel, Old Norse heill, Old Frisian hal, Middle Dutch hiel, Dutch heel, Old High German, German heil "salvation, welfare"), from PIE *koilas (cf. Old Church Slavonic celu "whole, complete;" see health). The spelling with wh- developed early 15c. The sense in whole number is from early 14c. For phrase whole hog, see hog.

Medicine definitions for as a whole

whole

[ hōl ]

adj.

Not wounded, injured, or impaired; sound or unhurt.

Having been restored; healed.

n.

An entity or system made up of interrelated parts.

Idioms and Phrases with as a whole (1 of 2)

as a whole

All parts or aspects considered, altogether, as in I like the play as a whole, though the second act seemed somewhat slow. [Early 1800s] Also see on the whole.

Idioms and Phrases with as a whole (2 of 2)

whole

In addition to the idioms beginning with whole

whole ball of wax, the
whole hog
whole kit and caboodle, the
whole megillah
whole new ballgame, a
whole nine yards, the
whole shebang

also see:

as a whole
go whole hog
on the whole
out of whole cloth

whole

adjective

noun

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of whole

British Dictionary definitions for as a whole

whole

adjective

adverb

noun

Word Origin for whole

Word Origin and History for as a whole (1 of 2)

whole

Word Origin and History for as a whole (1 of 2)

whole

Medicine definitions for as a whole

whole

adj.

n.

Idioms and Phrases with as a whole (1 of 2)

as a whole

Idioms and Phrases with as a whole (2 of 2)

whole