whole

a single entity comprised of a collection of parts; including all of an entity: This requires your whole attention.

Not to be confused with:

hole – an opening in something or an unoccupied space; a playing period in golf: We only had time to play nine holes.; a lack or a fault: Your reasoning is full of holes.

whole

(hōl)

adj.

a. Containing all components; complete: the whole series of novels.

b. Not divided or disjoined; in one unit: a whole loaf.

c. Constituting the full amount, extent, or duration: The baby cried the whole trip home.

a. Not wounded, injured, or impaired; sound or unhurt: Many escaped the fire frightened but whole.

b. Having been restored; healed: After the treatment he felt whole.

3. Having the same parents: a whole sister.

1. A number, group, set, or thing lacking no part or element; a complete thing.

2. An entity or system made up of interrelated parts: The value of the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.

adv. Informal

Entirely; wholly: a whole new idea.

Idioms:

as a whole

All parts or aspects considered; altogether: disliked the acting but enjoyed the play as a whole.

on the whole

1. Considering everything: on the whole, a happy marriage.

2. In most instances or cases; as a rule: can expect sunny weather, on the whole.

[Middle English hole, unharmed, from Old English hāl; see kailo- in Indo-European roots.]

whole′ness n.

Synonyms: whole, all, entire, gross, total
These adjectives mean including every constituent or individual: a whole town devastated by an earthquake; all the class going on a field trip; entire shipments lost by the distributor; gross income; the total cost of the project.

Antonym: partial

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

whole

(həʊl)

adj

1. containing all the component parts necessary to form a total; complete: a whole apple.

2. constituting the full quantity, extent, etc

3. uninjured or undamaged

4. (Medicine) healthy

5. (Mathematics) having no fractional or decimal part; integral: a whole number.

6. (Genetics) of, relating to, or designating a relationship established by descent from the same parents; full: whole brothers.

7. out of whole cloth informal US and Canadian entirely without a factual basis

adv

in an undivided or unbroken piece: to swallow a plum whole.

8. all the parts, elements, etc, of a thing

9. an assemblage of parts viewed together as a unit

10. a thing complete in itself

11. as a whole considered altogether; completely

12. on the whole

a. taking all things into consideration

b. in general

[Old English hāl, hǣl; related to Old Frisian hāl, hēl, Old High German heil, Gothic hails; compare hale¹]

ˈwholeness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

whole

(hoʊl)

adj.

1. comprising the full quantity or amount; entire or total: He ate the whole pie.

2. complete: a whole set of china.

3. undivided; in one piece: to swallow a thing whole.

4. not fractional; integral.

5. not broken, damaged, or impaired; intact: The vase arrived whole.

6. uninjured or unharmed; sound.

7. pertaining to all aspects of human nature: education for the whole person.

8. the entire quantity, extent, or number: to accept some of the teachings but reject the whole.

9. a thing complete in itself or comprising all its parts or elements.

10. an assemblage of parts associated together as one thing; a unitary system.

Idioms:

1. as a whole, as a unit; considered together.

2. on or upon the whole, in all of the most significant ways; in general.

3. out of whole cloth, without foundation in fact; fictitious.

[before 900; Middle English hole, hool (adj. and n.), Old English hāl (adj.) whole, sound, c. Old Frisian, Old Saxon hēl, Old High German heil, Old Norse heill, Gothic hails; compare hale¹, heal; sp. with w reflects dial. form]

whole′ness, n.

whole

1. 'the whole of' and 'whole'

When you talk about the whole of something, you mean all of it.

We were there for the whole of July.

I felt pain throughout the whole of my body.

Instead of using the whole of in front of a noun phrase beginning with the, you can simply use whole after the. For example, instead of saying 'The whole of the house was on fire', you can say 'The whole house was on fire'.

I spent the whole day in the library.

They're the best team in the whole world.

You can use whole in a similar way after this, that, or a possessive.

I just want to say how sorry I am about this whole business.

I've never seen anything like this in my whole life.

You use whole after a to emphasize that you mean all of something of a particular kind.

We worked on the project for a whole year.

I drank a whole pot of coffee, and I still felt tired.

You can also use whole like this in front of the plural form of a noun.

There were whole paragraphs in the article that I didn't understand.

Be Careful!
In front of plurals, whole does not have the same meaning as all. If you say 'All the buildings have been destroyed', you mean that every building has been destroyed. If you say 'Whole buildings have been destroyed', you mean that some buildings have been destroyed completely.

2. 'as a whole'

You use as a whole after a noun to emphasize that you are talking about all of something and regarding it as a single unit.

Is this true just of some classes, or of the school as a whole?

In the country as a whole, average house prices went up by 19%.

3. 'on the whole'

You add on the whole to a statement to show that what you are saying is true in general but may not be true in every case.

I didn't enjoy the food because on the whole I don't really like fish.

On the whole it's not a good idea to ask him questions.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	whole - all of something including all its component elements or parts; "Europe considered as a whole"; "the whole of American literature" concept, conception, construct - an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances division, section, part - one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole; "the written part of the exam"; "the finance section of the company"; "the BBC's engineering division" unit - a single undivided whole; "an idea is not a unit that can be moved from one brain to another" compound - a whole formed by a union of two or more elements or parts complex, composite - a conceptual whole made up of complicated and related parts; "the complex of shopping malls, houses, and roads created a new town"
	2.	whole - 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" unit object, physical object - a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow; "it was full of rackets, balls and other objects" congener - a whole (a thing or person) of the same kind or category as another; "lard was also used, though its congener, butter, was more frequently employed"; "the American shopkeeper differs from his European congener" animate thing, living thing - a living (or once living) entity natural object - an object occurring naturally; not made by man artefact, artifact - a man-made object taken as a whole assembly - a unit consisting of components that have been fitted together item - a whole individual unit; especially when included in a list or collection; "they reduced the price on many items" part, portion - something less than the whole of a human artifact; "the rear part of the house"; "glue the two parts together" segment, section - one of several parts or pieces that fit with others to constitute a whole object; "a section of a fishing rod"; "metal sections were used below ground"; "finished the final segment of the road" aggregate, total, totality, sum - the whole amount
Adj.	1.	whole - 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" complete - having every necessary or normal part or component or step; "a complete meal"; "a complete wardrobe"; "a complete set of the Britannica"; "a complete set of china"; "a complete defeat"; "a complete accounting" fractional - constituting or comprising a part or fraction of a possible whole or entirety; "a fractional share of the vote"; "a partial dose"
	2.	whole - (of siblings) having the same parents; "whole brothers and sisters" half - (of siblings) related through one parent only; "a half brother"; "half sister"
	3.	whole - not injured unharmed, unhurt, unscathed uninjured - not injured physically or mentally
	4.	whole - exhibiting or restored to vigorous good health; "hale and hearty"; "whole in mind and body"; "a whole person again" hale healthy - having or indicating good health in body or mind; free from infirmity or disease; "a rosy healthy baby"; "staying fit and healthy"
	5.	whole - acting together as a single undiversified whole; "a solid voting bloc" unanimous, solid undiversified - not diversified
Adv.	1.	whole - 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" all, altogether, completely, entirely, totally, wholly colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech

whole

noun

1. total, all, lot, everything, aggregate, sum total, the entire amount Taken as a percentage of the whole, it has to be a fairly minor part

2. unit, body, piece, object, combination, unity, entity, ensemble, entirety, fullness, totality The different components combine to form a complete whole.
unit part, bit, piece, division, element, component, portion, fragment, constituent

adjective

1. complete, full, total, entire, integral, uncut, undivided, unabridged, unexpurgated, uncondensed I have now read the whole book.
complete cut, divided, fragmented, partial, incomplete, in pieces

2. undamaged, intact, unscathed, unbroken, good, sound, perfect, mint, untouched, flawless, unhurt, faultless, unharmed, in one piece, uninjured, inviolate, unimpaired, unmutilated I struck the glass with all my might, but it remained whole.
undamaged broken, damaged

3. (Archaic) healthy, well, better, strong, sound, fit, recovered, healed, cured, robust, hale, in good health, in fine fettle, able-bodied the woman who was made whole by touching the hem of Jesus's garment
healthy diseased, ill, sick, crook (Austral. & N.Z. informal), ailing, sickly, unwell, under-the-weather

adverb

1. in one piece, in one Snakes swallow their prey whole.

on the whole

2. all in all, altogether, all things considered, by and large, taking everything into consideration On the whole, I think it's better if I don't come with you.

3. generally, in general, for the most part, as a rule, chiefly, mainly, mostly, principally, on average, predominantly, in the main, to a large extent, as a general rule, generally speaking On the whole, women are having children much later these days.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

whole

adjective

1. Including every constituent or individual:

all, complete, entire, gross, total.

2. Lacking nothing essential or normal:

complete, entire, full, intact, integral, perfect.

3. Not diffused or dispersed:

concentrated, exclusive, intensive, undivided, unswerving.

4. Not more or less:

complete, entire, full, good, perfect, round.

5. In excellent condition:

entire, flawless, good, intact, perfect, sound, unblemished, unbroken, undamaged, unharmed, unhurt, unimpaired, uninjured, unmarred.

6. Having good health:

fit, hale, healthful, healthy, hearty, right, sound, well, wholesome.

Idioms: fit as a fiddle, hale and hearty, in fine fettle.

noun

1. An amount or quantity from which nothing is left out or held back:

aggregate, all, entirety, everything, gross, sum, total, totality.

Informal: work (used in plural).

Idioms: everything but the kitchen sink, lock, stock, and barrel, the whole ball of wax.

2. An organized array of individual elements and parts forming and working as a unit:

entity, integral, sum, system, totality.

Translations

الكُلّ بِكَامِلِهِبِكامِلِهكامِل، تامكل، الشّيءُ بِكامِلِه

celekcelý

helhele

ganz Ganze Ganzes vollständig

ολόκληρος όλος σύνολο

entero todo totalidad íntegro

kokonainenkokonaisuuskoko

entier tout totalité ensemble

čitavcjelina

allurheildheill; allirí heilu lagi

tutto intero nel complesso nell'insieme completamente

全体全体の

전체전체의

rupūs miltai

nesadalītsveselaisveselsveselumsviss

geheel heel hele

hel hele helhet helt

całość całycałacałecałkowicie

inteiro total

целый целое полностью полный целиком

celcelotacelacelo

helhelhethelt

ทั้งหมดสิ่งที่ครบถ้วน

bütünbütün olarakhepsi-in tümü

tất cảtoàn bộ

完整的整个整体整体的全体的

whole

[həʊl]

A. N (= complete unit) → todo m
the whole may be greater than the sum of the or its parts → el todo puede ser mayor que la suma de las partes
four quarters make a whole → cuatro cuartos hacen una unidad
as a whole the estate is to be sold as a whole → la propiedad va a venderse como una unidad
Europe should be seen as a whole → Europa debería considerarse como un todo or una unidad
taken as a whole, the project is a success → si se considera en su totalidad, el proyecto es un éxito
is this true just in India, or in the world as a whole? → ¿es ése el caso sólo en la India o en todo el mundo?
the whole of → todo
the whole of Glasgow was talking about it → todo Glasgow hablaba de ello
the whole of our output this year → toda nuestra producción de este año
the whole of July → todo el mes de julio
the whole of the time → todo el tiempo
the whole of Europe → toda Europa, Europa entera
the whole of the morning → toda la mañana, la mañana entera
on the whole → en general

B. ADJ

1. (= entire) → todo
the whole family was there → toda la familia estaba allí
we spent the whole summer in Italy → pasamos todo el verano or el verano entero en Italia
a whole hour → toda una hora, una hora entera
it rained for three whole days → llovió durante tres días enteros or seguidos
whole towns were destroyed → pueblos enteros fueron destruidos
along its whole length → todo a lo largo
I've never told anyone in my whole life → nunca se lo he dicho a nadie en toda mi vida
a whole load of people were there → había un montón de gente allí
he took the whole lot → se lo llevó todo
I'm fed up with the whole lot of them → estoy harto de todos ellos
a whole lot better/worse → muchísimo mejor/peor
it's a whole new world to me → es un mundo completamente nuevo para mí
I've bought myself a whole new wardrobe → me he comprado un vestuario completamente nuevo
the whole point was to avoid that happening → el propósito era evitar que eso pasara
the whole point of coming here was to relax → el objetivo de venir aquí era relajarse
the figures don't tell the whole story → las cifras no nos dicen toda la verdad
let's forget the whole thing → olvidemos todo el asunto, olvidémoslo todo
he didn't tell the whole truth → no dijo toda la verdad
the whole world → todo el mundo, el mundo entero
to go the whole hog → liarse la manta a la cabeza
this is a whole new ball game → es una historia distinta por completo, es algo completamente distinto

2. (= intact) → entero
not a glass was left whole following the party → no quedó ni un vaso entero tras la fiesta
keep the egg yolks whole → procure que no se rompan las yemas de huevo
the seal on the letter was still whole → el sello de la carta no estaba roto
to make sth whole (liter) (= heal) → curar algo
he swallowed it whole → se lo tragó entero

C. CPD whole milk N → leche f entera
whole note N (US) (Mus) → semibreve f
whole number N → número m entero

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

whole

[ˈhəʊl]

adj

(= complete) → entier/ière, tout(e)
the whole class → toute la classe, la classe entière
the whole afternoon → tout l'après-midi
a whole afternoon → un après-midi entier
to spend a whole afternoon doing sth → passer un après-midi entier à faire qch
a whole box of chocolates → toute une boîte de chocolats, une boîte entière de chocolats
the whole world → le monde entier
We spent the whole summer in Italy → Nous avons passé tout l'été en Italie.
the whole time (that) → pendant tout le temps que
It rained the whole time we were there → Il a plu pendant tout le temps que nous étions là-bas.
Whole villages were destroyed → Des villages entiers furent détruits.
the whole lot, the whole lot of it (= all of it) → tout
the whole lot, the whole lot of them (= all of them) → tous (sans exception)
"Aren't there any biscuits left?" - "No, Caroline took the whole lot." → "Il ne reste plus de biscuits?" "Non, Caroline les a tous pris."

(for emphasis) → tout(e)
I saw a whole different side of him that day → J'ai vu une facette de lui entièrement différente ce jour-là., Je l'ai vu sous un tout autre jour ce jour-là.
There's a whole group of friends I want you to meet → Il y a tout un groupe d'amis que j'aimerais te présenter.
a whole new way of doing business → toute une nouvelle façon de faire des affaires
never in my whole life → jamais de la vie

(= in one piece) → en un seul morceau
He swallowed it whole → Il l'a avalé tout rond.

(= total) → ensemble m
a small percentage of the whole → un petit pourcentage de l'ensemble
the whole of sth → l'ensemble de qch
the whole of the town → l'ensemble de la ville, toute la ville
The whole of Wales was affected → L'ensemble du pays de Galles a été touché.
the whole of the time → tout le temps
for the whole of July → pendant tout le mois de juillet

(= single thing with many parts) → tout m, ensemble m
The earth's weather system is an integrated whole → La météorologie terrestre est un tout intégré., La météorologie terrestre est un ensemble intégré.
a coherent whole → un tout cohérent, un ensemble cohérent

as a whole → dans son ensemble

on the whole → dans l'ensemble

whole

adj (= entire, unbroken, undivided) → ganz; truth → voll; (Bibl: = well) → heil; but the whole purpose was to … → aber der ganze Sinn der Sache or aber der Zweck der Übung (inf) → war, dass …; three whole weeks → drei volle or ganze Wochen; the whole lot → das Ganze; (of people) → alle, der ganze Verein (inf); a whole lot of people → eine ganze Menge Leute; a whole lot better (inf) → ein ganzes Stück besser (inf), → sehr viel besser; she is a whole lot of woman (esp US inf) → sie ist eine richtige or echte Frau; let’s forget the whole thing → vergessen wir das Ganze; the figures don’t tell the whole story/the whole truth → die Zahlen sagen nicht alles/nicht die ganze Wahrheit; a whole new wardrobe → eine völlig neue Garderobe; out of whole cloth (US) → von Anfang bis Ende erdichtet; not a cup was left whole → nicht eine Tasse blieb ganz or heil; she swallowed it whole → sie schluckte es ganz or unzerkaut (hinunter); a pig roasted whole → ein ganzes Schwein im or am Stück gebraten

n → Ganze(s) nt; the whole of the month → der ganze or gesamte Monat; we spent the whole of the morning at the airport → wir waren den ganzen Morgen (lang) auf dem Flughafen; the whole of the time → die ganze Zeit; the whole of his savings → seine gesamten or sämtlichen Ersparnisse; the whole of London → ganz London; nearly the whole of our production → fast unsere gesamte Produktion; as a whole → als Ganzes; these people, as a whole, are … → diese Leute sind in ihrer Gesamtheit …; on the whole → im Großen und Ganzen, im Ganzen gesehen, alles in allem

whole

wholefood

n (also wholefoods) → Vollwertkost f

adj attr (esp Brit) → Vollwert(kost)-; whole diet → Vollwert(kost)diät f; whole shop → Bioladen m

wholehearted

adj → völlig, uneingeschränkt; whole congratulations/thanks to X → X (dat) → gratulieren/danken wir von ganzem Herzen; to be whole in one’s cooperation → sich rückhaltlos mit einsetzen

wholeheartedly

adv → voll und ganz

wholeheartedness

n → Rückhaltlosigkeit f

whole hog

n to go the whole (inf) → aufs Ganze gehen

wholemeal (Brit)

adj → Vollkorn-; whole bread → Vollkornbrot nt; whole pasta → Vollkornnudeln pl

n → feiner Vollkornschrot

whole milk

n → Vollmilch f

whole

whole note

n (esp US Mus) → ganze Note

whole number

n → ganze Zahl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

whole

[həʊl]

1. adj

a. (entire, + sg n) → intero/a, tutto/a; (+ pl n) → intero/a
with my whole heart → con tutto il mio cuore
a whole lot of things → una gran quantità di cose, moltissime cose
a whole lot of people → moltissima gente
a whole lot better → molto meglio
the whole lot → tutto
the whole lot (of them) → tutti/e
3 whole days → 3 giorni interi
the whole day → tutto il giorno, il giorno intero
I read the whole book → ho letto tutto il libro or il libro per intero
the whole world → tutto il mondo, il mondo intero
whole villages were destroyed → interi paesi furono distrutti
is that the whole truth? → è tutta la verità?
but the whole purpose or point was to ... → ma lo scopo era proprio di...

b. (intact, unbroken) → intero/a; (series, set) → completo/a
to swallow sth whole → mandar giù qc intero/a (fig) he swallowed it whole → l'ha bevuta tutta
to our surprise he came back whole → con nostra sorpresa tornò sano e salvo

2. n

a. (all) the whole of the film → tutto il film, il film intero
the whole of the sum → la somma intera, l'intera somma
the whole of the time → tutto il tempo
the whole of Italy → tutta l'Italia, l'Italia intera
the whole of the town → la città intera, tutta la città
as a whole → nell'insieme, nel suo insieme
on the whole → nel complesso

b. (entire unit) → tutto
they make a whole → formano un tutto
two halves make a whole → due metà fanno un intero

whole

(həul) adjective

1. including everything and/or everyone; complete. The whole staff collected the money for your present; a whole pineapple.

2. not broken; in one piece. She swallowed the biscuit whole.

noun

1. a single unit. The different parts were joined to form a whole.

2. the entire thing. We spent the whole of one week sunbathing on the beach.

ˈwholeness noun

ˈwholly adverb

completely or altogether. I am not wholly certain yet.

ˌwholeˈhearted adjective

sincere and enthusiastic. wholehearted support.

ˈwholemeal noun

flour made from the entire wheat grain or seed. wholemeal flour/bread.

on the whole

taking everything into consideration. Our trip was successful on the whole.

whole

→ الكُلّ, بِكَامِلِهِ celek, celý hele ganz, Ganzes ολόκληρος, σύνολο entero, todo kokonainen, kokonaisuus entier, tout čitav, cjelina intero, tutto 全体, 全体の 전체, 전체의 geheel, hele hel, hele całość, cały inteiro, total целое, целый hel, helhet ทั้งหมด, สิ่งที่ครบถ้วน bütün tất cả, toàn bộ 全部, 完整的

whole

n. total, conjunto;

as a ___ → en conjunto;

a. todo-a;

the ___ day → todo el día.

All through June (US)
For the whole of June (UK) → po celý červen → hele juni måned → Im ganzen Monat Juni → για όλο τον Ιούνιο → durante todo el mes de junio → Koko kesäkuun ajan → pendant tout le mois de juin → tijekom cijelog lipnja → Per tutto giugno → 六月いっぱい → 유월 내내 → de hele maand juni → i hele juni → Przez cały czerwiec → por todo o mês de junho → На весь июнь → under hela juni → bütün Haziran boyunca → Trong cả tháng Sáu → 整个六月份

whole

adj integral, entero, total, todo el; — blood sangre total; whole-grain cereals cereales integrales; — milk leche entera; — wheat trigo integral; the whole tumor..todo el tumor