whole

adjective \ ˈhōl \

Updated on: 4 Dec 2017

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

The whole thing started when a video began circulating on social media, showing a group of fans asking Finn for an autograph outside of a hotel.

— de elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "Shannon Purser Defends Finn Wolfhard After a Fan Calls Him Rude," 5 Nov. 2017
The slug-like animals are a staple part of the indigenous community’s diet, usually cooked by boiling them whole to soften the chewy flesh, then sometimes pan fried.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "Is the Mysterious Sea Cucumber Slipping Out of Our Grasp?," 4 Nov. 2017
Selena Gomez, Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and a whole host of other A-listers are big on this style.

— krystin arneson, Glamour, "The 'Naked Dress' Trend Is Alive and Well, Thanks to Ashley Graham," 4 Nov. 2017
These could be easy references, like the whole plot line of Will getting possessed being a nod to The Exorcist.

— matt miller, Esquire, "Here's Every Great Movie Reference From Stranger Things 2," 1 Nov. 2017
Parks Department Administrator Mark Heintz said the city looked at how to improve the whole park and not just replace the pool.

— craig lyons, Post-Tribune, "Hammond considers Hessville Park redesign to replace pool," 31 Oct. 2017
Her magical trips schooled a whole generation, teaching kids about animals, the body, and space.

— ernest macias, EW.com, "Betsy DeVos dressed up as Ms. Frizzle — and people aren't happy about it," 31 Oct. 2017
Its ingredients play the whole range of primal taste notes: the pickled elements are sweet and sour; the beef is salty; the mayonnaise brings an unctuous fatty richness; peppers add heat; cilantro cools it all down.

— rand richards cooper, courant.com, "In Our Midst: Banh Mi Fever," 30 Oct. 2017
Of course there are some speed bumps in this whole rebranding campaign.

— luke darby, GQ, "The Bush Family Is Using the Trump Era to Attempt a Rebrand," 4 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.

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 idea is to attract families that, like the city as a whole, are feeling the effects of the area’s growth, costs and traffic.

— paige cornwell, The Seattle Times, "Lakeside opening second — cheaper — school in shadow of Space Needle," 23 Sep. 2017
Viewed as a whole, the statues are monotonous — Lenin is always portrayed as stern — but there are individual nuances.

— Washington Post, "100 years after Russian revolution, Lenin statues abound," 5 Nov. 2017
To work at the level of the population as a whole, such social-media operations cannot stand alone.

— The Economist, "Less Euromaidan, more GamergateOnce considered a boon to democracy, social media have started to look like its nemesis," 4 Nov. 2017
For the year as a whole, Shell is on course to surpass its larger U.S. rival on the measure for the first time in about two decades.

— rakteem katakey, Bloomberg.com, "Shell Takes Exxon’s Cash-Flow Crown as Earnings Beat Estimates," 2 Nov. 2017
And, put simply, one of the biggest drivers of those choices is the fact that Americans, as a whole, are simply too afraid to die.

— pascal-emmanuel gobry, National Review, "We’re Too Afraid to Die," 2 Nov. 2017
For the year as a whole, Shell is on course to surpass its larger U.S. rival on the measure for the first time in about two decades.

— rakteem katakey, Houston Chronicle, "Shell takes Exxon's cash-flow crown as profit beats estimate," 2 Nov. 2017
This should be a lesson for the industry as a whole — many industry figures exhibit abusive and predatory behavior, and many more have looked the other way when witnessing or hearing of inappropriate conduct.

— sara ziff, Cosmopolitan, "Sexual Abuse is Rampant in Fashion. Here’s How I’m Trying to Stop It.," 1 Nov. 2017
This lead to some commenters' offensive remarks against Islam as a whole.

— erica gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Gigi Hadid Just Shut Down an Islamophobic Tweet About the Terror Attack in NYC," 1 Nov. 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

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
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, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Find your catch of the week at outdoor fish market," 18 Sep. 2017
Leave tomatoes whole or cut into halves or quarters.

— meghann foye, Redbook, "Ted Allen's Tricks for Pinterest-Worthy Preserves," 16 Aug. 2013
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
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

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

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whole Synonyms

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whole

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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

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whole

medical Definition of whole

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