the whole time
noun
1
: since something began : during the entire period of time
The police knew the whole time who was guilty.
2
British
: at all times : always
You can't be right the whole time.
3
British, informal
: very often
My sisters and I used to fight the whole time.
Examples of the whole time in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On the rooftop, Gavin has his boy Kenny’s back the whole time.
—
Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 June 2026
The apparent charade lasted more than a minute before Wittman removed the phone from his face and hustled ahead of the reporter, ignoring questions the whole time.
—Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
How Long To Run The Exhaust Fan When bathing, run the fan the whole time to clear moisture and humidity from the air.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 3 June 2026
Who wins is never really in doubt, nor does Levinson milk much tension out of the extended sequence (despite multiple armed guards surrounding Ali pretty much the whole time).
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for the whole time
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 June 2026
The apparent charade lasted more than a minute before Wittman removed the phone from his face and hustled ahead of the reporter, ignoring questions the whole time.
—Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
How Long To Run The Exhaust Fan When bathing, run the fan the whole time to clear moisture and humidity from the air.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 3 June 2026
Who wins is never really in doubt, nor does Levinson milk much tension out of the extended sequence (despite multiple armed guards surrounding Ali pretty much the whole time).
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for the whole time
Cite this Entry
“The whole time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20whole%20time. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
