Definitions for whole
hoʊlwhole

Princeton's WordNet(2.50 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. wholenoun

   all of something including all its component elements or parts

   "Europe considered as a whole"; "the whole of American literature"

2. whole, unitadjective

   an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity

   "how big is that part compared to the whole?"; "the team is a unit"

3. wholeadjective

   including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete

   "gave his whole attention"; "a whole wardrobe for the tropics"; "the whole hog"; "a whole week"; "the baby cried the whole trip home"; "a whole loaf of bread"

4. wholeadjective

   (of siblings) having the same parents

   "whole brothers and sisters"

5. unharmed, unhurt, unscathed, wholeadjective

   not injured

6. hale, wholeadjective

   exhibiting or restored to vigorous good health

   "hale and hearty"; "whole in mind and body"; "a whole person again"

7. solid, unanimous, wholeadverb

   acting together as a single undiversified whole

   "a solid voting bloc"

8. wholly, entirely, completely, totally, all, altogether, wholeadverb

   to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly')

   "he was wholly convinced"; "entirely satisfied with the meal"; "it was completely different from what we expected"; "was completely at fault"; "a totally new situation"; "the directions were all wrong"; "it was not altogether her fault"; "an altogether new approach"; "a whole new idea"

Wiktionary(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. wholenoun

   Something complete, without any parts missing.

   Etymology: From hool, from hal, from hailaz (compare Low German heel/heil, Dutch heel, German heil, Danish hel), from kóhₐilus, coel 'omen', Breton kel 'omen, mention', Old Prussian kails 'healthy', Albanian gjallë 'alive, unhurt', Old Church Slavonic cĕlŭ 'healthy, unhurt', Ancient Greek koîlu 'good'). Related to hale, health, and heal.

2. wholenoun

   An entirety.

   Etymology: From hool, from hal, from hailaz (compare Low German heel/heil, Dutch heel, German heil, Danish hel), from kóhₐilus, coel 'omen', Breton kel 'omen, mention', Old Prussian kails 'healthy', Albanian gjallë 'alive, unhurt', Old Church Slavonic cĕlŭ 'healthy, unhurt', Ancient Greek koîlu 'good'). Related to hale, health, and heal.

3. wholeadverb

   in entirety; entirely; wholly

   I ate a fish whole!

   Etymology: From hool, from hal, from hailaz (compare Low German heel/heil, Dutch heel, German heil, Danish hel), from kóhₐilus, coel 'omen', Breton kel 'omen, mention', Old Prussian kails 'healthy', Albanian gjallë 'alive, unhurt', Old Church Slavonic cĕlŭ 'healthy, unhurt', Ancient Greek koîlu 'good'). Related to hale, health, and heal.

4. wholeadjective

   entire.

   I ate a whole fish.

   Etymology: From hool, from hal, from hailaz (compare Low German heel/heil, Dutch heel, German heil, Danish hel), from kóhₐilus, coel 'omen', Breton kel 'omen, mention', Old Prussian kails 'healthy', Albanian gjallë 'alive, unhurt', Old Church Slavonic cĕlŭ 'healthy, unhurt', Ancient Greek koîlu 'good'). Related to hale, health, and heal.

5. wholeadjective

   sound, uninjured, healthy.

   He is of whole mind, but the same cannot be said about his physical state.

   Etymology: From hool, from hal, from hailaz (compare Low German heel/heil, Dutch heel, German heil, Danish hel), from kóhₐilus, coel 'omen', Breton kel 'omen, mention', Old Prussian kails 'healthy', Albanian gjallë 'alive, unhurt', Old Church Slavonic cĕlŭ 'healthy, unhurt', Ancient Greek koîlu 'good'). Related to hale, health, and heal.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Wholeadjective

   containing the total amount, number, etc.; comprising all the parts; free from deficiency; all; total; entire; as, the whole earth; the whole solar system; the whole army; the whole nation

2. Wholeadjective

   complete; entire; not defective or imperfect; not broken or fractured; unimpaired; uninjured; integral; as, a whole orange; the egg is whole; the vessel is whole

3. Wholeadjective

   possessing, or being in a state of, heath and soundness; healthy; sound; well

4. Wholenoun

   the entire thing; the entire assemblage of parts; totality; all of a thing, without defect or exception; a thing complete in itself

5. Wholenoun

   a regular combination of parts; a system

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Whole

   hōl, adj. sound, as in health (so in B.): unimpaired: containing the total amount, number, &c.: all: not defective: complete: in mining, as yet unworked.—n. the entire thing: a system or combination of parts.—adv. wholly.—adjs. Whole′-col′oured, all of one colour; Whole′-foot′ed (coll.) unreserved; Whole′-heart′ed, -souled, noble: hearty, generous; Whole′-hoofed, having undivided hoof; Whole′-length, giving the whole figure, as a portrait: full-length.—n. a portrait or statue giving the whole figure.—ns. Whole′ness; Whole′sāle, sale of goods by the whole piece or large quantity.—adj. buying and selling in large quantities: extensive.—n. Whole′sāler, one who sells by wholesale.—adjs. Whole′-skinned, having an unbroken skin: unhurt: safe in reputation; Whole′some, healthy: sound: salutary: (Shak.) prosperous.—adv. Whole′somely.—ns. Whole′someness; Whole′-stitch, a lace-making stitch used in filling.—adv. Wholly (hō′li), completely, altogether.—n. Wholth, wholeness, soundness.—Whole number, a unit, or a number composed of units, an integral number.—Upon, On, the whole, generally speaking, to sum up.—With whole skin, safe, unscathed. [A.S. hál, healthy; Ice. heill, Ger. heil. By-form hale (1).]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. whole

   Having the complete element or facet.

   The whole business is represented at the management meeting and it is so clear teamwork and unity makes the plan work.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 9, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Concept

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'whole' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #447

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'whole' in Written Corpus Frequency: #377

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'whole' in Nouns Frequency: #500

4. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'whole' in Adjectives Frequency: #47

How to pronounce whole?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say whole in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of whole in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of whole in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of whole in a Sentence

1. Miroslav Blazevic:

   I took advantage of the intense patriotism in the squad, we were very much an unknown country so it was our chance to put the team and the whole country in the spotlight. It was easy to motivate the players.

2. Tadashi Matsukawa:

   On the whole, I suspect there will be considerable damage to the economy.

3. Jaime Garcia:

   I felt pretty good the whole game.

4. Chief Executive Rony Abovitz:

   In Magic Leap, I would see Pokemon just like I see real people, we love what they're doing. It's a gateway to a whole new future.

5. Tim Griffin:

   I think there's a lot to talk about other than personalities, and I'm going to talk about it. I'm going to talk a whole lot about ideas and substance. And at the end of the day, that's what makes the difference in Arkansans' lives.

Images & Illustrations of whole

Popularity rank by frequency of use