həul adj. & n. --adj. 1 in an
uninjured,
unbroken,
intact, or
undiminished state (swallowed it whole;
there is
not a
plate left whole). 2 not
less than;
all there is
of;
entire,
complete (waited a whole
year; tell
the whole
truth; the whole school knows). 3 (of
blood or
milk etc.)
with no
part removed. --n. 1 a
thing complete in
itself. 2 all there is of a thing (spent the whole of the summer by the sea). 3 (foll. by of) all members, inhabitants,
etc., of (the whole of London knows it). øas a whole as a
unity; not as
separate parts. go the whole
hog see HOG. on the whole
taking everything relevant into account; in
general (it
was, on the whole, a
good report;
they behaved well on the whole). whole
cloth cloth of full size as manufactured. whole
holiday a whole
day taken as a holiday (cf.
half holiday). whole-life
insurance life insurance
for which premiums are
payable throughout the remaining life of the
person insured. whole
lot see LOT. whole
note esp. US Mus. =
SEMIBREVE. whole
number a number
without fractions; an
integer. whole-tone scale Mus. a scale consisting
entirely of tones, with no semitones. øøwholeness n. [OE hal f. Gmc]
