Meanings
- idiomaticUsed to relate to all the parts of something: altogether, on the whole
The sets are being sold as a whole, which affects the trade as a whole.
3 more examples
If a Bushel of Wheat be considered as a Whole whose Parts are Eight Gallons, and if Five of those Gallons be assumed, then the remaining Three are the Complement of that Part to the Whole.
1735, John Kirkby, Arithmetical Institutions: Containing a Compleat System of Arithmetic Natural, Logarithmical, and AlgebraicalAnd just as it is only the animal organism as a whole that can be regarded as a real entity, the calls of which it is composed having no distinct independent life, so Comte constantly repeats that 'Humanity is the only real existence, the individual being a mere metaphysical abstraction.'
1898, J. Beattie Crozier, Civilization and progress, page 145Economically, too, London is startlingly different. The capital, unlike the country as a whole, has no budget deficit: London’s public spending matches the taxes paid in the city. The average Londoner contributes 70 percent more to Britain’s national income than people in the rest of the country.
2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in New York TimesSynonyms: in toto
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseUsed to relate to all the parts of something: altogether, on the whole
Translations
Bulgarian като цяло
- като цяло (kato cjalo)considered all together
Esperanto entute
- entuteconsidered all together
Finnish kokonaisuutena
- kokonaisuutenaconsidered all together
French tout compte fait, somme toute
- tout compte faitconsidered all together
- somme touteconsidered all together
- en fin de compteconsidered all together
Italian nell'insieme, tutto sommato
- nell'insiemeconsidered all together
- tutto sommatoconsidered all together
- in fin dei conticonsidered all together
- alla fine della fieraconsidered all together
Polish w ogólnym rozrachunku
- w ogólnym rozrachunkuconsidered all together
Portuguese como um todo
- como um todoconsidered all together
Russian в це́лом
- в це́лом (v célom)considered all together
Spanish en conjunto
- en conjuntoconsidered all together
Ukrainian в ціло́му
- в ціло́му (v cilómu)considered all together
Cite this entry
as a whole. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20a%20whole
“as a whole.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20a%20whole. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “as a whole,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20a%20whole.
Source: as a whole on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.