entire

American  

[en-tahyuhr] / ɛnˈtaɪər /

adjective

1. having all the parts or elements; whole; complete.

   He wrote the entire novel in only six weeks.

   Antonyms:

   partial

2. full or thorough.

   He has been given entire freedom of choice in this matter.

3. not broken, mutilated, or decayed; intact.

   We were fortunate to find this relic entire.

   Antonyms:

   defective

4. unimpaired or undiminished.

   His entire energies have gone into making the enterprise a success.

5. being wholly of one piece; undivided; continuous.

   The entire mood of the symphony was joyful.

6. Botany. without notches or indentations, as leaves.

7. not gelded.

   an entire horse.

8. Obsolete. wholly of one kind; unmixed or pure.

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noun

1. Archaic. the whole; entirety.

2. an ungelded animal, especially a stallion.

entire British  

/ ɪnˈtaɪə /

adjective

1. (prenominal) whole; complete

   the entire project is going well

2. (prenominal) without reservation or exception; total

   you have my entire support

3. not broken or damaged; intact

4. consisting of a single piece or section; undivided; continuous

5. (of leaves, petals, etc) having a smooth margin not broken up into teeth or lobes

6. not castrated

   an entire horse

7. obsolete of one substance or kind; unmixed; pure

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noun

1. a less common word for entirety

2. an uncastrated horse

3. philately

   1. a complete item consisting of an envelope, postcard, or wrapper with stamps affixed

   2. (of a stamp) placed on an envelope, postcard, etc, and bearing postal directions

Usage

What does entire mean? Entire describes something that is complete or whole, as in With my parents away for the weekend, I have the entire house to myself. Entire also describes something that is in one piece or continuous, as in The entire mood of the class was worried as our teacher handed out the tests. Example: The entire series is perfect and there are no bad episodes.

Other Word Forms

• entireness noun
• subentire adjective

Etymology

Origin of entire

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English entere, from Middle French entier, from Latin integrum, accusative of integer “whole”; see integer

Explanation

Think of the word entire as referring to all of anything. Now think of that "all" as being whole — not broken or lacking in any way. Remember that, and you will have the entire meaning of the word. Entire is based on the Latin integrum, which came from the prefix in-, "not," and tangere, "to touch," and thus means "untouched." From there it developed into the 14th-century Old French entier, meaning "unbroken or complete," and then, through Middle English, into our modern word entire. One use of the word you don't see every day is to describe an uncastrated horse — an "entire horse" is a stallion. Gives a pretty interesting picture of the word, doesn't it?

Example Sentences

"No need to destroy the entire infrastructure - not the roads, the water pipes, the electricity," he added.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

The war has caused a mess throughout the entire oil market, but jet fuel is a particular point of pain, and Europe has been hit the hardest of all.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Especially after spending his entire freshman season scrapping for minutes behind All-Big East big man Tarris Reed Jr.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

The entire tech industry has been grappling with the implications of heavy AI investment and looking for ways to cut costs.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026

“This entire section lost power today. It won’t be fixed until next week sometime. No one is watching us.”

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• full
• integrated
• unified