whole

 
Pronunciation: /həʊl/

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

noun

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