whole

[hohl]
adjective
1.
comprising the full quantity, amount, extent, number, etc., without diminution or exception; entire, full, or total: He ate the whole pie. They ran the whole distance.
2.
containing all the elements properly belonging; complete: We have a whole set of antique china.
3.
undivided; in one piece: to swallow a thing whole.
4.
Mathematics. integral, or not fractional.
5.
not broken, damaged, or impaired; intact: Thankfully, the vase arrived whole.
6.
uninjured or unharmed; sound: He was surprised to find himself whole after the crash.
7.
pertaining to all aspects of human nature, especially one's physical, intellectual, and spiritual development: education for the whole person.
noun
8.
the whole assemblage of parts or elements belonging to a thing; the entire quantity, account, extent, or number: He accepted some of the parts but rejected the whole.
9.
a thing complete in itself, or comprising all its parts or elements.
10.
an assemblage of parts associated or viewed together as one thing; a unitary system.
00:10
Whole is always a great word to know.
So is solution. Does it mean:
the process of determining the answer to a problem, or the answer itself
a relation between two sets in which one element of the second set is assigned to each element of the first set, the operator
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Idioms
11.
as a whole, all things included or considered; altogether: As a whole, the relocation seems to have been beneficial.
12.
on/upon the whole,
a.
in view of all the circumstances; after consideration.
b.
disregarding exceptions; in general: On the whole, the neighborhood is improving.
13.
out of whole cloth, without foundation in fact; fictitious: a story made out of whole cloth.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English hole, hool (adj. and noun), Old English hāl (adj.); cognate with Dutch heel, German heil, Old Norse heill; see hale1, heal; spelling with w reflects dial. form

Related forms
whole·ness, noun
self-whole, adjective

Can be confused: hole, whole (see synonym study at hole)(see synonym study at the current entry).

Synonyms
1. undiminished, integral, complete. 5. unimpaired, perfect. 8. totality, aggregate. Whole, total mean the entire or complete sum or amount. The whole is all there is; every part, member, aspect; the complete sum, amount, quantity of anything, not divided; the entirety: the whole of one's property, family. Total also means whole, complete amount, or number, but conveys the idea of something added together or added up: The total of their gains amounted to millions.

Antonyms
1. partial. 8. part.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To whole
Collins
World English Dictionary
whole (həʊl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—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.  healthy
5.  having no fractional or decimal part; integral: a whole number
6.  of, relating to, or designating a relationship established by descent from the same parents; full: whole brothers
7.  informal (US), (Canadian) out of whole cloth entirely without a factual basis
 
—adv
8.  in an undivided or unbroken piece: to swallow a plum whole
 
—n
9.  all the parts, elements, etc, of a thing
10.  an assemblage of parts viewed together as a unit
11.  a thing complete in itself
12.  as a whole considered altogether; completely
13.  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]
 
'wholeness
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

whole
O.E. hal "entire, unhurt, healthy," from P.Gmc. *khailaz "undamaged" (cf. O.S. hel, O.N. heill, O.Fris. hal, M.Du. hiel, Du. heel, O.H.G., Ger. heil "salvation, welfare"), from PIE *koilas (cf. O.S.C. celu "whole, complete;" see health). The spelling with wh- developed c.1420.
Whole-hearted is first recorded 1840. For phrase whole hog, see hog.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

whole (hōl)
adj.

  1. Not wounded, injured, or impaired; sound or unhurt.

  2. Having been restored; healed.

n.
An entity or a system made up of interrelated parts.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

whole

In addition to the idioms beginning with whole, also see as a whole; go whole hog; on the whole; out of whole cloth.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Energy efficient light bulbs are cool already, but they are getting a whole lot
  cooler.
As with cities, whole decades have their ideal playlists.
Since then it has grown into a whole family of algorithms, which have been
  applied to many practical questions.
But many scientists were excited for another reason: it meant they had a whole
  new toolbox to study human disease.
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