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definitions

holus-bolus

[ hoh-luh s-boh-luh s ]
/ ˈhoʊ ləsˈboʊ ləs /
|

adverb

all at once; altogether.

Nearby words

  1. holston,
  2. holt,
  3. holt, harold edward,
  4. holter monitor,
  5. holthouse's hernia,
  6. holy,
  7. holy alliance,
  8. holy ark,
  9. holy bible,
  10. holy bread

Origin of holus-bolus

1840–50; mock-Latin rhyming compound based on phrase whole bolus. See whole, bolus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for holus-bolus

  • Holus-bolus, 'sicut examen apum,' ye decamp at the word of a single foe!

    The Day of Wrath|Maurus Jkai

  • There was a first-class carr'ge door opin right forninst me, an' into that the gyard crams me holus-bolus.

    Martin Hewitt, Investigator|Arthur Morrison

  • They had just killed the animal, and were roasting it whole, holus-bolus, unskinned and undressed.

    Spinifex and Sand|David W Carnegie
British Dictionary definitions for holus-bolus

holus-bolus

/ (ˈhəʊləsˈbəʊləs) /

adverb

informal all at once

Word Origin for holus-bolus

C19: pseudo-Latin based on whole bolus; see bolus
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