/ həʊl; NAmE hoʊl/ adjective , noun
■ adjective
1.
[ only before noun ] full; complete :
He spent the whole day writing.
We drank a whole bottle each.
The whole country (= all the people in it) mourned her death.
Let's forget the whole thing .
She wasn't telling the whole truth .
2.
[ only before noun ] used to emphasize how large or important sth is :
We offer a whole variety of weekend breaks.
I can't afford it—that's the whole point .
3.
not broken or damaged
SYN in one piece :
Owls usually swallow their prey whole (= without chewing it) .
➡ note at half
► whole·ness noun [ U ]
—see also wholly
•
IDIOMS
Most idioms containing whole are at the entries for the nouns and verbs in the idioms, for example go the whole hog is at hog .
- a whole lot
- a whole lot (of sth)
- the whole lot
■ noun
1.
[ C ] a thing that is complete in itself :
Four quarters make a whole.
The subjects of the curriculum form a coherent whole.
2.
[ sing. ] the ~ of sth all that there is of sth :
The effects will last for the whole of his life.
➡ note at half
•
IDIOMS
- as a whole
- on the whole
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English hāl , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heel and German heil , also to the verb hail (senses 1-3). The spelling with wh- (reflecting a dialect pronunciation with w- ) first appeared in the 15th cent.