entire
Americanadjective
-
having all the parts or elements; whole; complete.
He wrote the entire novel in only six weeks.
- Antonyms:
- partial
-
full or thorough.
He has been given entire freedom of choice in this matter.
-
not broken, mutilated, or decayed; intact.
We were fortunate to find this relic entire.
- Antonyms:
- defective
-
unimpaired or undiminished.
His entire energies have gone into making the enterprise a success.
-
being wholly of one piece; undivided; continuous.
The entire mood of the symphony was joyful.
-
Botany. without notches or indentations, as leaves.
-
not gelded.
an entire horse.
-
Obsolete. wholly of one kind; unmixed or pure.
noun
-
Archaic. the whole; entirety.
-
an ungelded animal, especially a stallion.
adjective
-
(prenominal) whole; complete
the entire project is going well
-
(prenominal) without reservation or exception; total
you have my entire support
-
not broken or damaged; intact
-
consisting of a single piece or section; undivided; continuous
-
(of leaves, petals, etc) having a smooth margin not broken up into teeth or lobes
-
not castrated
an entire horse
-
obsolete of one substance or kind; unmixed; pure
noun
-
a less common word for entirety
-
an uncastrated horse
-
philately
-
a complete item consisting of an envelope, postcard, or wrapper with stamps affixed
-
(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”; integer
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Paramount started with a $19 a share bid for the entire company.
From Los Angeles Times
Adding the carbon-sulfur bonds late in the process failed to deliver the correct stereochemistry, forcing the team to redesign the entire order of steps.
From Science Daily
There’s no single performance benchmark for the entire alternative investment industry to which I can point.
From MarketWatch
With the district attorney investigating, a pall has been cast over the entire settlement.
From Los Angeles Times
England players talk about having to take on the entire country, rather than just the Australia team.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
