On the Whole

Meaning of Idiom ‘On the Whole’

On the whole means generally, considering everything. ¹Spears, Richard A. McGraw-Hill’s American Idioms Dictionary. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008.,²Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.

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See synonyms:

By and Large

For the Most Part

Examples Of use

“Well, the morning didn’t start well but on the whole, it was a pretty productive day.”

“On the whole, I enjoy my job, but sometimes it can be boring.”

“It was, on the whole, a successful expedition, even though the explorers didn’t find the lost city.”

“How was your vacation?” asked Mirah. “It was good on the whole but I was sick during the last few days of it.”

Origin

Used since the late 1600s. ³Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.

More Idioms Starting with O

• Out of Order
• Out of the Corner of One’s Eye
• Out the Wazoo
• Out of Whack
• Out of Breath

More On Idioms

• Trip On
• Lot Riding On Something, a
• Egg On
• Big On Something
• On a Roll
• Go Out On a Limb
• Out on a Limb

More Whole Idioms

• Go Whole Hog
• Whole Shebang
• Whole New Ball Game, a
• Cut Out of Whole Cloth