on the whole

Idioms  

1. Considering everything, as in On the whole we enjoyed our vacation, although the hotel was not perfect by any means. [Late 1600s] Also see the synonyms by and large; for the most part.

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Example Sentences

“Businesses are still profitable and growing on the whole, so there’s not really a catalyst for laying off people,” said Stephen Juneau, a U.S. economist for Bank of America.

From The Wall Street Journal

A spokeswoman for the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, declined to comment on the whole document but pushed back against the assertion that Europe backs harmful migration policies or undermines free speech.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yet the policy’s supporters say the accounts are a step in the right direction, and could help shift thinking around family formation on the whole.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Treasury hinted heavily that changes would be made, but Reeves shied away from the more drastic option of scrapping VAT exemptions on the whole scheme entirely.

From BBC

There are many notable exceptions, but on the whole, society has become less literate, less mathematical and less able to think and reason critically.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• commonly
• consistently
• customarily
• frequently
• generally
• mostly
• naturally
• normally
• occasionally
• often
• ordinarily
• regularly
• routinely
• sometimes