1whole 
/ˈhoʊl/ adjective
/ˈhoʊl/ adjective 1 a always used before a noun : complete or full : not lacking or leaving out any part
▪ The whole [=entire] family went on the trip. ▪ The doctor assured me that the whole procedure would only take a few minutes. ▪ The whole place was remodeled. It looks great now. ▪ He was out sick for the whole [=entire] week. ▪ It's been a whole week since I've seen him. ▪ I spent the whole summer traveling through Europe. ▪ The whole evening was a great success. ▪ She read the whole book in one day. ▪ I've been waiting my whole life for this. ▪ I felt like the luckiest girl in the whole wide world [=in the world] that day. ▪ They failed to tell us the whole story. [=they failed to tell us everything; they only told us certain things] ▪ It rained the whole time I was there. [=it rained continuously while I was there] ▪ We decided to forget the whole thing.
b : having all the parts : not divided or cut into parts or pieces
▪ a whole egg ▪ whole strawberries [=strawberries that are not sliced or cut up] ▪ We cooked a whole chicken. ▪ whole grains ▪ The recipe calls for two whole cloves. [=cloves that haven't been ground] 2 a : great or large in size, extent, etc.
▪ The community center offers a whole range of programs. ▪ The track team took part in a whole series of events. [=in a lot of events] ▪ There's a whole set of criteria to consider. ▪ She owns a whole collection of hats. [=she owns many different hats]
b — used for emphasis before a noun ▪ The whole idea is to make things better, not worse. ▪ She missed the whole point of the story. ▪ We weren't quite sure what to make of the whole situation. ▪ He doesn't seem to have a whole lot of [=much] respect for other people's feelings. ▪ Things are looking a whole lot [=much] brighter now.
▪ The whole [=entire] family went on the trip. ▪ The doctor assured me that the whole procedure would only take a few minutes. ▪ The whole place was remodeled. It looks great now. ▪ He was out sick for the whole [=entire] week. ▪ It's been a whole week since I've seen him. ▪ I spent the whole summer traveling through Europe. ▪ The whole evening was a great success. ▪ She read the whole book in one day. ▪ I've been waiting my whole life for this. ▪ I felt like the luckiest girl in the whole wide world [=in the world] that day. ▪ They failed to tell us the whole story. [=they failed to tell us everything; they only told us certain things] ▪ It rained the whole time I was there. [=it rained continuously while I was there] ▪ We decided to forget the whole thing.
b : having all the parts : not divided or cut into parts or pieces
▪ a whole egg ▪ whole strawberries [=strawberries that are not sliced or cut up] ▪ We cooked a whole chicken. ▪ whole grains ▪ The recipe calls for two whole cloves. [=cloves that haven't been ground]
▪ The community center offers a whole range of programs. ▪ The track team took part in a whole series of events. [=in a lot of events] ▪ There's a whole set of criteria to consider. ▪ She owns a whole collection of hats. [=she owns many different hats]
b — used for emphasis before a noun ▪ The whole idea is to make things better, not worse. ▪ She missed the whole point of the story. ▪ We weren't quite sure what to make of the whole situation. ▪ He doesn't seem to have a whole lot of [=much] respect for other people's feelings. ▪ Things are looking a whole lot [=much] brighter now.
go (the) whole hog — see 1hog
out of whole cloth — see cloth
the whole enchilada — see enchilada
the whole (kit and) caboodle — see caboodle
the whole nine yards — see 2yard
the whole shebang — see shebang
the whole shooting match — see shooting match
whole nother — see nother
— whole·ness noun [noncount]
