whole

Pronunciation: /həʊl/

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Definition of whole

adjective

1 [attributive] all of; entire:he spent the whole day walking she wasn’t telling the whole truth
used to emphasize a large extent or number:disputes on a whole range of issues

2in an unbroken or undamaged state; in one piece:owls usually swallow their prey whole
[attributive] with no part removed:puddings made with whole milk
[predic.] healthy:people should be whole in body, mind, and spirit

noun

1a thing that is complete in itself:the subjects of the curriculum form a coherent whole

2 (the whole) all of something:the effects will last for the whole of his life

adverb

[as submodifier] informal

used to emphasize the novelty or distinctness of something:the man who’s given a whole new meaning to the term ‘cowboy’

Phrases

as a whole: as a single unit and not as separate parts; in general:a healthy economy is in the best interests of society as a whole
in whole: entirely or fully:a number of stone churches survive in whole or in part
in the whole (wide) world: anywhere; of all:he was the nicest person in the whole world
on the whole: taking everything into account; in general:on the whole, it was quite a good speech
the whole nine yards: informal, chiefly North American everything possible or available:send in the troops, aircraft, nuclear submarine experts, the whole nine yards

Derivatives

wholeness

Origin:

Old English hāl, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heel and German heil, also to hail². The spelling with wh- (reflecting a dialect pronunciation with w-) first appeared in the 15th century

whole in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of whole in the US English dictionary

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Other

whole

adjective

noun

adverb

Phrases

as a whole

in whole

in the whole (wide) world

on the whole

the whole nine yards

Derivatives

wholeness

Origin:

whole in other Oxford dictionaries

Nearby words

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