definitions
  • synonyms

whole number

noun Mathematics.

Also called counting number. one of the positive integers or zero; any of the numbers (0, 1, 2, 3, …).
(loosely) integer(def 1).

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RELATED WORDS

sum, total, figure, statistic, count, digit, emblem, prime, symbol, character, sign, cipher, cardinal, fraction, representation, numeral, ordinal, googol, numerator, integer

Nearby words

whole milk, whole new ballgame, a, whole nine yards, whole nine yards, the, whole note, whole number, whole numbers, whole rest, whole shebang, whole sister, whole snipe

Origin of whole number

First recorded in 1550–60
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for whole numbers

whole number

noun

an integer
a natural number
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

Science definitions for whole numbers

whole number

A member of the set of positive integers and zero.
A positive integer.
An integer.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Culture definitions for whole numbers

whole numbers

The set of familiar numbers (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on) sometimes called natural numbers or counting numbers. When they are called counting numbers, zero is not included.

Note

The whole numbers are also called the positive integers (or the nonnegative integers, if zero is included).
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.