whole
♦♦♦ whole /h'oʊl/ (wholes)
1 [QUANT] QUANT of def-n
If you refer to the whole of something, you mean all of it.
He has said he will make an apology to the whole of Asia for his country's past behaviour...
I was cold throughout the whole of my body.
...the whole of August.
[ADJ] ADJ n
Whole is also an adjective.
He'd been observing her the whole trip...
We spent the whole summer in Italy that year.
= entire
2 [N-COUNT] usu sing
A whole is a single thing which contains several different parts.
An atom itself is a complete whole, with its electrons, protons and neutrons and other elements...
3 [ADJ] v-link ADJ, v n ADJ
If something is whole, it is in one piece and is not broken or damaged.
I struck the glass with my fist with all my might; yet it remained whole...
Small bones should be avoided as the dog may swallow them whole and risk internal injury.
= intact
4 [ADV] ADV adj
You use whole to emphasize what you are saying. (INFORMAL)
It was like seeing a whole different side of somebody...
His father had helped invent a whole new way of doing business.
= totally
[ADJ] ADJ n
Whole is also an adjective.
That saved me a whole bunch of money...
5 [PHRASE] n PHR, PHR with cl
If you refer to something as a whole, you are referring to it generally and as a single unit.
He described the move as a victory for the people of South Africa as a whole...
As a whole we do not eat enough fibre in Britain.
6 [PHRASE] PHR with cl
You use on the whole to indicate that what you are saying is true in general but may not be true in every case, or that you are giving a general opinion or summary of something.
On the whole, people miss the opportunity to enjoy leisure...
= generallywhole note (whole notes)
[N-COUNT]
A whole note is a musical note that has a time value equal to two half notes. (AM; in BRIT, use semibreve)whole num|ber (whole numbers)
[N-COUNT]
A whole number is an exact number such as 1, 7, and 24, as opposed to a number with fractions or decimals.
= integer
1 [QUANT] QUANT of def-n
If you refer to the whole of something, you mean all of it.
He has said he will make an apology to the whole of Asia for his country's past behaviour...
I was cold throughout the whole of my body.
...the whole of August.
[ADJ] ADJ n
Whole is also an adjective.
He'd been observing her the whole trip...
We spent the whole summer in Italy that year.
= entire
2 [N-COUNT] usu sing
A whole is a single thing which contains several different parts.
An atom itself is a complete whole, with its electrons, protons and neutrons and other elements...
3 [ADJ] v-link ADJ, v n ADJ
If something is whole, it is in one piece and is not broken or damaged.
I struck the glass with my fist with all my might; yet it remained whole...
Small bones should be avoided as the dog may swallow them whole and risk internal injury.
= intact
4 [ADV] ADV adj
You use whole to emphasize what you are saying. (INFORMAL)
It was like seeing a whole different side of somebody...
His father had helped invent a whole new way of doing business.
= totally
[ADJ] ADJ n
Whole is also an adjective.
That saved me a whole bunch of money...
5 [PHRASE] n PHR, PHR with cl
If you refer to something as a whole, you are referring to it generally and as a single unit.
He described the move as a victory for the people of South Africa as a whole...
As a whole we do not eat enough fibre in Britain.
6 [PHRASE] PHR with cl
You use on the whole to indicate that what you are saying is true in general but may not be true in every case, or that you are giving a general opinion or summary of something.
On the whole, people miss the opportunity to enjoy leisure...
= generallywhole note (whole notes)
[N-COUNT]
A whole note is a musical note that has a time value equal to two half notes. (AM; in BRIT, use semibreve)whole num|ber (whole numbers)
[N-COUNT]
A whole number is an exact number such as 1, 7, and 24, as opposed to a number with fractions or decimals.
= integer