whole
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.
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.
Idioms about whole
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: There were upsides and downsides, but on the whole I thought it best to make the trip now rather than later.
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
1synonym study For whole
Other words for whole
Opposites for whole
Other words from whole
- whole·ness, noun
- self-whole, adjective
Words that may be confused with whole
- hole, whole
Words Nearby whole
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use whole in a sentence
In that photo, Merabet has a big smile that spreads across his whole face and lights up his eyes.
“We talked about the science the whole time the other day,” Krauss told The Daily Beast in a phone interview.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking | M.L. Nestel | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIf the Israel model ban were directed towards disordered eating, Ravin says she would support it whole-heartedly.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models | Carrie Arnold | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat an amazing thing to be able to listen to any music you want, a whole world of bands.
And Air Force assessors are the first to say such imaging never tells the whole story.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War | Nancy A. Youssef | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
You would not think it too much to set the whole province in flames so that you could have your way with this wretched child.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniNow, it immediately occurred to Davy that he had never in his whole life had all the plums he wanted at any one time.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. CarrylBut Polavieja started his campaign with the immense advantage of having the whole of the dry season before him.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanAll changes are to be Rang either by walking them (as the term is) or else whole-pulls, or Half-pulls.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing | Richard Duckworth and Fabian StedmanThe plant as a whole remains green until late in the autumn.
How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard Bastin
British Dictionary definitions for whole
/ (həʊl) /
containing all the component parts necessary to form a total; complete: a whole apple
constituting the full quantity, extent, etc
uninjured or undamaged
healthy
having no fractional or decimal part; integral: a whole number
of, relating to, or designating a relationship established by descent from the same parents; full: whole brothers
out of whole cloth US and Canadian informal entirely without a factual basis
in an undivided or unbroken piece: to swallow a plum whole
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
Origin of whole
1Derived forms of whole
- wholeness, noun
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with 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
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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