whole

adjective

\ˈhōl

Definition of whole

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a(1) : free of wound or injury : unhurt

(2) : recovered from a wound or injury : restored

(3) : being healed whole of an ancient evil, I sleep sound— A. E. Housman

b : free of defect or impairment : intact

c : physically sound and healthy : free of disease or deformity

d : mentally or emotionally sound

2 : having all its proper parts or components : complete, unmodified whole milk a whole egg

3a : constituting the total sum or undiminished entirety : entire owns the whole island

b : each or all of the took part in the whole series of athletic events

4a : constituting an undivided unit : unbroken, uncut a whole roast suckling pig

b : directed to one end : concentrated your whole attention

5a : seemingly complete or total the whole idea is to help, not hinder

b : very great in quantity, extent, or scope feels a whole lot better now

6 : constituting the entirety of a person's nature or development educate the whole student

7 : having the same father and mother whole brother

whole

noun

Definition of whole (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : a complete amount or sum : a number, aggregate, or totality lacking no part, member, or element

2 : something constituting a complex unity : a coherent system or organization of parts fitting or working together as one

in whole

: to the full or entire extent : wholly —usually used in the phrase in whole or in part

on the whole

1 : in view of all the circumstances or conditions : all things considered

2 : in general : in most instances : typically

whole

adverb

Definition of whole (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : wholly, entirely a whole new age group— Henry Chauncey

2 : as a complete entity

Other Words from whole Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about whole

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Choose the Right Synonym for whole

Adjective

perfect, whole, entire, intact mean not lacking or faulty in any particular. perfect implies the soundness and the excellence of every part, element, or quality of a thing frequently as an unattainable or theoretical state. a perfect set of teeth whole suggests a completeness or perfection that can be sought, gained, or regained. felt like a whole person again after vacation entire implies perfection deriving from integrity, soundness, or completeness of a thing. the entire Beethoven corpus intact implies retention of perfection of a thing in its natural or original state. the boat survived the storm intact

Examples of whole in a Sentence

Adjective

The doctor assured me that the whole procedure would only take a few minutes. The whole place was remodeled. It looks great now. It's been a whole week since I've seen him. I spent the whole summer traveling through Europe. The whole evening was a great success. She read the whole book in one day. I've been waiting my whole life for this. We decided to forget the whole thing. We cooked a whole chicken. The community center offers a whole range of programs.

Noun

the landlord eventually refunded the whole of our deposit

Adverb

We cooked the chicken whole. The frog swallowed the fly whole.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

And the whole room watched me go to the back and put my rollerblades back on. — Nick A. Zaino Iii, BostonGlobe.com, "Comic Alex Edelman took the long way back to Boston," 12 July 2018 When guys have success, this whole locker room is so hype. — Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star, "Pacers reportedly waive veteran center Al Jefferson," 2 July 2018 And pretty soon the whole room will be dancing with him. — Tony Baranek, Daily Southtown, "Baranek: Beverly native Michael Rudd Jr. hoping to turn mettle into medals at Special Olympics," 29 June 2018 Of course, small slices of New York City are not representative of the whole world. — James Vincent, The Verge, "Facebook sets a new task for AI: guide a virtual tourist around New York," 11 July 2018 Russia has no interest in the departure of Iranian forces, which are critical to Assad’s ability to reconquer the whole country. — Anna Arutunyan, Time, "No Matter What Happens in Helsinki, Putin Has Already Won," 10 July 2018 Seven decades later, the whole country knew the process, and the steelworks of England burned bright. — Jonathan Schifman, Popular Mechanics, "The Entire History of Steel," 9 July 2018 But Massachusetts, a leader in so many areas, is now a laggard, the only state in the whole country that has not enacted a new or revised budget for fiscal 2019. — Joshua Miller, BostonGlobe.com, "State lands tax windfall: $1.2 billion more than expected," 6 July 2018 Each summer the scrappy company bicycles its whole production — set, costumes, props — from its home base in downtown Santa Rosa to nearby parks. — Lily Janiak, SFChronicle.com, "Lily Janiak’s theater pick," 3 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

But Atul Gawande is one of the special few who sees the whole in the parts. — Clifton Leaf, Fortune, "Why Atul Gawande Is the Perfect Choice to Lead the Amazon, Berkshire, and JPMorgan Health Venture," 20 June 2018 The snake had swallowed the gator whole — and the snake's gut exploded. — Elizabeth Finny And Sonia Osorio, miamiherald, "Python vs. gator: A trapper steps in to save a life in the Everglades," 18 June 2018 In a final attempt to break the deadlock, May has proposed a back-stop transition arrangement that keeps the whole of the U.K. in the customs union until a longer-term deal can be hammered out. — NBC News, "Brexit is even messier than critics expected. So what happens now?," 10 June 2018 The exhibition, curated by Christophe Cherix, Cornelia Butler, David Platzker, and Tessa Ferreyros, spans Piper’s entire career and occupies the museum’s entire sixth floor—the first time MoMA has devoted the whole of this space to a living artist. — Jillian Steinhauer, The New Republic, "Adrian Piper’s art plays with identity and confronts defensiveness.," 30 May 2018 Roofs caved in, as did interior floors that bound the whole together. — David Usborne, Town & Country, "The Mysterious Case of the Parnham House Fire," 29 May 2018 Don't just swallow the moment whole without digesting what has actually happened here. — Fox News, "Sen. Rubio on whether Trump has reversed course on China," 16 May 2018 Horford started a blistering 4-of-4 (for 11 points) and Brown jumped out with 13 -- so, yes, the two of them outscored the whole of the Cavs (18 points). — Joe Vardon, cleveland.com, "Marcus Morris, Celtics beat up on LeBron James and Cavs, 108-83 in Game 1," 13 May 2018 But annual loan growth for the banking sector as a whole was stronger in the last two years of the Obama administration, according to figures from the Federal Reserve. — Emily Flitter, New York Times, "Bank Earnings Climb in Growing Economy, but Lending Doesn’t Keep Pace," 13 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

Fish, whether whole or cut, should be firm and shiny, but never soft, mushy, sticky or oily, signs of age. — Nicole Sours Larson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "White fish & vegetables," 9 July 2018 The prison had obtained whole-head lettuce that was consumed by the prisoners. — Lena H. Sun And Joel Achenbach, chicagotribune.com, "Source of E.coli-contaminated romaine lettuce still a mystery, FDA says," 24 Apr. 2018 And at the opposite end of the spectrum, Bruges, a fairy-tale town just 20 minutes from Ghent by train, with brewhouses tucked between the castles, is a whole different kind of cool. — Clodagh Kinsella, Condé Nast Traveler, "Northern Belgium Is Our New Favorite Food and Design Destination," 8 May 2018 But does the deep and traditional connection with women’s tennis make the men’s game and the sport as a whole more relevant to today’s and tomorrow’s audiences? — Christopher Clarey, New York Times, "Serena Williams Is Set to Reclaim Her Leading Role in Tennis," 29 Jan. 2018 So much so that Dean does a whole fake proposal (ew, men never do this) with a key to his house. — Anna Moeslein, Glamour, "'The Bachelor Winter Games' Season 1, Episode 4 Recap: A Couple Is Engaged, but It's Not Who You Think," 23 Feb. 2018 Portions of other large fish, such as opah, tuna, mako shark, wahoo, mahi mahi and monchong, are available as fillets or loins, which can be roasted whole or cut into steaks for grilling. — Nicole Sours Larson, Pacific San Diego Magazine, "Find your catch of the week(end) at outdoor fish market," 26 Sep. 2017 Portions of other large fish, such as opah, tuna, mako shark, wahoo, mahi mahi and monchong, are available as fillets or loins, which can be roasted whole or cut into steaks for grilling. — Nicole Sours Larson, Pacific San Diego Magazine, "Find your catch of the week(end) at outdoor fish market," 26 Sep. 2017 This whole confused mess started rather mundanely back in late 2014. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Scientists on new supernova: WTF have we been looking at?," 8 Nov. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'whole.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.