entire
Noun pluralentires
Pluralentires
- 1Having all its parts, with nothing missing or left out.
Like a whole pizza with every slice still there.
The entire class went on the trip together.
She spent her entire allowance on books.
UsageUsually after the, my, her and so on: the entire class. Before of, say all of.
Similarcomplete, total, whole, undivided
Oppositepartial, incomplete
Note
- 2The whole of something.
‘Then is the City Magistrate the entire of your family now?’
1924, EM Forster, A Passage to IndiaHere, entire means the whole, all of it taken together.In the entire of the Poems we never hear of a merchant ship of the Greeks.
1876, WE Gladstone, Homeric SynchronismUsageFound in the entire of. Today people say the whole of.
Note
- 3In plants, describes a leaf or flower part with a smooth, unbroken edge, not cut into teeth or pieces.
Like a leaf with a smooth edge, not bumpy like a saw.
This plant has entire leaves with no jagged edges.
This plant has entire leaves, with smooth edges and no teeth.
Note
Less common meanings
- 4Describes a male animal that has not been castrated.
The farmer kept the bull entire for breeding.
Our vet said an entire male dog is more likely to wander.
Similaruncastrated, intact
Oppositecastrated, gelded, neutered
Note
- 5
- 6Pure and complete, without anything bad mixed in.
No man had ever a heart more entire to the king.
Can we date this quote?, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in EnglandSee now, whether pure fear and entire cowardice doth not make thee / wrong this virtuous gentlewoman to close with us.
c. 1596, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth,. Epilogue.”Similarwholehearted, unreserved
Oppositehalfhearted
Note
- 7In math, describes a function that has a derivative at every point of the complex plane.
- 8In stamp collecting, a whole envelope or folded letter, including any stamps and postal marks it has.
- 9Porter or stout, dark kinds of beer, sent out just as it comes from the brewery.
- 10Inside something, or belonging to its inner part.
Depp is the wound, that dints the parts entire
1595, Edmund Spenser, “[Amoretti.] Sonnet VI”Here, entire means inner, the parts deep inside.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of entire apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It comes from Latin 'integer', meaning 'whole', and reached English through Anglo-Norman 'entier'.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Entire ultimately derives from Latin integer. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin integer means whole. en.wiktionary.org
- Entire reached English through Anglo-Norman entier. en.wiktionary.org