whole

adjective \ ˈhōl \

Updated on: 21 May 2018

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

These include moving entire families to isolation centers, placing whole villages in quarantine with the use of soldiers, or banning certain social practices that may spread the disease (thus forcing people to simply hide such practices).

— The Christian Science Monitor, "The new calm in combatting Ebola," 18 May 2018
And while his instrument is at the center of nearly every loud and louche LCC song – no wonder Elton John loves the band – the unit as whole brings a joyful swagger to the stage.

— dan deluca, Philly.com, "Low Cut Connie get stinky at Union Transfer (in a good way)," 18 May 2018
Apple has given developers some ability to offer free app trials, for time periods ranging from three days up to a whole year.

— lauren goode, WIRED, "Fed Up With Apple's Policies, App Developers Form a 'Union'," 18 May 2018
The whole sad and depressing tabloid sideshow — will Meghan Markle’s father walk his daughter down the aisle? — has been answered.

— william booth, Washington Post, "Meghan Markle: ‘Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding’," 17 May 2018
The political damage inflicted by this whole affair is largely of Trump’s own making.

— matt ford, The New Republic, "How Many Years Will Robert Mueller Need?," 17 May 2018
The whole thing was a prank orchestrated by Summers, a 21-year-old Kansas City video producer with a growing Internet following.

— sarah gish, kansascity, "'I don't wanna work here no more': Popeyes prank is the work of KC viral video maker | The Kansas City Star," 17 May 2018
The corrupt system that is politics in Illinois has promised retirement benefits to teachers, municipal workers and a whole bunch of party governmental hacks.

— randy blaser, chicagotribune.com, "Illinois has lost the bet for our future, and now might have to sell off Lincoln memorabilia to cover the debt," 16 May 2018
Bioplastics This very flexible term is currently used for a whole spectrum of plastics, encompassing both fossil-fuel- and biologically based plastics that are biodegradable and biologically-based plastics that are not biodegradable.

— National Geographic, "Plastics Explained, From A to Z," 16 May 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

See Words from the same year

whole Synonyms

Phrases

in fine fettle, in shape, in the pink;

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

That means that in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections, the district performed six points more Democratic than the nation as a whole.

— anthony man, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Lois Frankel wins re-election to Congress after no one comes forward to challenge her," 4 May 2018
Pandora helped bring record attendance at Animal Kingdom and Walt Disney World as a whole, executives said in February 2018 during the quarterly earnings.

— gabrielle russon, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Disney, Universal and SeaWorld duke it out with new attractions," 2 May 2018
Second, his plan may be too late to stave off potential state action against the 10 schools and HISD as a whole.

— shelby webb, Houston Chronicle, "Mayor Turner pitches HISD partnership plan TEA says is not allowed," 1 May 2018
This made bedtime manageable, as well as motherhood as a whole.

— janelle hanchett, Health.com, "I Loved My Baby Girl Fiercely as a New Mom—But I Couldn’t Get Through the Day Without Alcohol," 1 May 2018
Aside from that post-credits scene, there’s barely an abstract threat to humanity as a whole.

— josh spiegel, The Hollywood Reporter, "Why 'Avengers: Infinity War' May Feel Unsatisfying," 28 Apr. 2018
The goal of this resolution was to make the Alaska Medicaid Program whole, keep the Arc in business, and send a strong message of deterrence to other providers.

— annie zak, Anchorage Daily News, "Arc of Anchorage to pay nearly $2.3 million in settlement over Medicaid billing," 25 Apr. 2018
That sought-for concert high, the blissful moment when everyone in the hall is rapt and breathing seemingly in sync, seemed to last through the work’s entirety, as the edges between the various media components melted to reveal its whole.

— leah garchik, San Francisco Chronicle, "The public says thanks for the sharing of art," 12 Apr. 2018
But a separate 2017 study by Citi analysts suggested that the commission that oversees the USPS may be using an outdated method to account for costs and that fees on each Amazon delivery would need to be $1.41 higher in 2018 to make the USPS whole.

— jason del rey, Recode, "Trump keeps bashing Amazon for its Postal Service pact — but he’s overlooking a different controversial deal that gives Chinese merchants an advantage in the U.S.," 3 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of whole

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

whole Synonyms

Synonyms

aggregate, full, sum, summation, sum total, total, totality;

Near Antonyms

net;

Related Words

gross;

completeness, comprehensiveness, cumulativeness, entirety;

bulk, lion's share, mass;

enchilada, schmear;

Phrases

grand total, the whole bit, the whole kit and caboodle, the whole nine yards, the whole shebang;

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

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
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
One is reserved for the sauce; the other is served whole.

— michael bauer, San Francisco Chronicle, "Why 4-star restaurants have megawatt prices," 27 Oct. 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, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Find your catch of the week at outdoor fish market," 18 Sep. 2017

First Known Use of whole

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

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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whole

Definition of whole

wholeness

Examples of whole in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of whole

whole Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Phrases

Synonym Discussion of whole

whole

Definition of whole

Examples of whole in a Sentence

Recent Examples of whole from the Web

First Known Use of whole

whole Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Phrases

whole

Definition of whole

Examples of whole in a Sentence

Recent Examples of whole from the Web

First Known Use of whole

WHOLE Defined for English Language Learners

whole

Definition of whole for English Language Learners

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

Medical Dictionary

whole

medical Definition of whole

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