whole

adjective \ ˈhōl \

Definition of whole

1 a (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

3 a :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

4 a :constituting an undivided unit :unbroken, uncut

a whole roast suckling pig

b :directed to one end :concentrated

your whole attention

5 a :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

—

wholeness

noun

See whole defined for English-language learners

See whole defined for kids

Examples of whole in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of whole from the Web

And on Sunday, the whole organization has been invited to volunteer with Watt and help unload trucks packed with supplies that will be arriving from the three-time defensive player of the year’s native Wisconsin.

— albert breer, SI.com, "Four Downs: Chicago Bears Remain Enamored With Rookie Mitch Trubisky," 31 Aug. 2017
The coaches’ wives really did a good job taking care of the kids, the whole team.

— gary bedore, kansascity, "KU hoops lands top-25 recruit in forward Silvio De Sousa," 30 Aug. 2017
This whole YouTube thing started for me four-ish years ago.

— amy bartner, Indianapolis Star, "This 5th-grade Carmel teacher is also a famous YouTuber," 30 Aug. 2017
Vine St. will be similarly glamorized from Sunset Blvd. to Yucca St. The whole job, which is being sponsored by the Hollywood Property Owners Assn. and the Hollywood Improvement Assn.

— scott harrison, latimes.com, "From the Archives: Groundbreaking for Hollywood Walk of Fame," 30 Aug. 2017
For some of them, adding in disaster-relief money could well be another reason to vote against the whole package rather than an inducement to go along.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Disaster Funding Package Could Make Debt Default Fears Go Away For a Long Time," 30 Aug. 2017
While tattoos may be controversial to some, this incident is definitely a whole new level.

— macaela mackenzie, Allure, "Woman Arrested for Letting 12-Year-Old Daughter Get A Tattoo," 30 Aug. 2017
The billion-dollar brand just launched a whole-new range of products that address skin concerns, from dry or dull skin to blemishes and acne.

— vanity fair, Vanities, "Fall Makeup That Is Sure to Fly off the Shelves," 28 Aug. 2017
In addition to the video above, the AP has a whole playlist of clips from the ceremony inside St. Paul's Cathedral to the crowd at Buckingham Palace to the traditional kiss on the royal balcony.

— caroline hallemann, Town & Country, "Watch Newly Restored Footage of Charles and Diana's Wedding," 25 Aug. 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.

Origin and Etymology of whole

Middle English hool healthy, unhurt, entire, from Old English hāl; akin to Old High German heil healthy, unhurt, Old Norse heill, Old Church Slavonic cělŭ

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

whole Synonyms

Synonyms

all, concentrated, entire, exclusive, focused (also focussed), undivided

Antonyms

diffuse, divided, scattered

Related Words

absolute, complete, full, lump, teetotal, thorough, total, unadulterated, unalloyed, unqualified, utter; comprehensive, intact, integral, perfect, unbroken

Near Antonyms

deficient, fragmental, fragmentary, halfway, incomplete, partial

Synonym Discussion of whole

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

whole

noun

Definition of whole

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

See whole defined for English-language learners

Examples of whole in a Sentence

the landlord eventually refunded the whole of our deposit

Recent Examples of whole from the Web

The Act eliminated tax advantages for real estate, and Trump naturally equated the loss of special treatment for his own industry with harm for the economy as a whole.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Lavishes Praise on Reagan Tax Reform He Once Called a ‘Catastrophe’," 30 Aug. 2017
Climate scientists, who specialize in thinking about the Earth system as a whole, are often reticent to link any one weather event to global climate change.

— adrienne lafrance, The Atlantic, "The Latest on Hurricane Harvey," 29 Aug. 2017
Our taxpayer dollars must come back to our neighborhoods to combat the heroin epidemic and its impact on our community as a whole.

— jason williams, Cincinnati.com, "PX: Council candidate kicks addiction, wants social media squabbles to end at City Hall," 29 Aug. 2017
Teva may sell the business as a whole or split the U.S. and European operations after bidders showed interest in separate parts, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private.

— manuel baigorri, Bloomberg.com, "Teva Women's Health Unit Attracts Interest of Church & Dwight, Cooper," 22 Aug. 2017
This is especially important for the president, who serves not just his faction but the nation as a whole.

— fred bauer, National Review, "Rebuilding the Public Square after Charlottesville," 18 Aug. 2017
This could have catastrophic consequences for the Wall and the whole of Westeros if the White Walkers and their army of wights attack in the next episode.

— chanel vargas, Harper's BAZAAR, "Everything You Need to Know About Eastwatch on Game of Thrones," 9 Aug. 2017
While it has been reported that a number of emails have been made public, the review to date has not given us a reason to believe that our e-mail system as a whole has been compromised.

— laura bradley, HWD, "Game of Thrones Sets New Ratings Record—Hacks be Damned," 8 Aug. 2017
But aside from keeping women back, this unequal distribution of labor actually has ramifications for the economy as a whole.

— maggie mallon, Glamour, "The Economy Would Be Better If Men Did More Work Around the House, Says a New Report," 2 Aug. 2017

First Known Use of whole

14th century

whole Synonyms

Synonyms

aggregate, full, sum, summation, sum total, total, totality, grand total, the whole bit, the whole kit and caboodle, the whole nine yards, the whole shebang

Related Words

gross; completeness, comprehensiveness, cumulativeness, entirety; bulk, lion's share, mass; enchilada, schmear

Near Antonyms

net

whole

adverb

Definition of whole

1 :wholly, entirely

a whole new age group
—Henry Chauncey

2 :as a complete entity

See whole defined for English-language learners

Examples of whole in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of whole from the Web

To the men of Boston who died for their country on land and sea in the war that kept the Union whole, destroyed slavery, and maintained the Constitution…

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "What I Saw in Boston on Saturday," 21 Aug. 2017
That whole dry, breakage thing continued to get worse as the days progressed.

— rachel jacoby zoldan, SELF, "I Stopped Washing My Hair Every Day and Used These 8 Shampoo Alternatives Instead," 18 July 2017
Incoming wing Troy Brown should make an immediate impact, Georgetown transfer Paul White will bolster the frontcourt, and Dana Altman usually creates a whole greater than its parts. 4.

— jon wilner, The Mercury News, "College Hotline: Pac-12 basketball projections for 2017-18," 6 Apr. 2017
PARIS — The Paris shows — and the whole ready-to-wear season — came to a close on Tuesday in the Cour Marly of the Louvre, under an I.M. Pei glass pyramid and a darkening sky, amid heroic 17th- and 18th-century marble nudes and plunging horses.

— vanessa friedman, New York Times, "Power Dressing Gets a New Look," 8 Mar. 2017

First Known Use of whole

14th century

WHOLE Defined for English Language Learners

whole

adjective

Definition of whole for English Language Learners

: complete or full : not lacking or leaving out any part
: having all the parts : not divided or cut into parts or pieces
: great or large in size, extent, etc.

whole

noun

Definition of whole for English Language Learners

: something that is full or complete

whole

adverb

Definition of whole for English Language Learners

: entirely or completely
: in one piece that has not been cut into parts

WHOLE Defined for Kids

whole

adjective \ ˈhōl \

Definition of whole for Students

1 :made up of all its parts :total, entire

the whole family

2 :all the

the whole week

3 :not cut up or ground

a whole onion

4 :not scattered or divided

I gave it my whole attention.

5 :having all its proper parts :complete

whole milk

6 :completely healthy or sound in condition Your care made me whole again.

—

wholeness

noun

whole

noun

Definition of whole for Students

1 :something that is full or complete

The whole of my day was spent working.

2 :a sum of all the parts and elements

the whole of creation

— on the whole

1 :all things considered

2 :in most cases

Medical Dictionary

whole

adjective \ ˈhōl \

medical Definition of whole

:containing all its natural constituents, components, or elements :deprived of nothing by refining, processing, or separation

whole milk

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See words that rhyme with whole Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for whole Spanish Central: Translation of whole Nglish: Translation of whole for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of whole for Arabic speakers

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whole

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whole

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whole

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whole

Definition of whole for English Language Learners

whole

Definition of whole for English Language Learners

WHOLE Defined for Kids

whole

Definition of whole for Students

wholeness

whole

Definition of whole for Students

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whole

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