Hole vs whole

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Grammarist

A hole is (1.) a cavity, a hollowed-out place (2.) an opening passing through an object (3.) an animal burrow (4.) in the United States, a hole may be a cove or small bay (5.) a cylindrical cup sunk into a golf green in which a ball is to be hit, or hole may refer to one of the eighteen distinct sections of a regulation golf course (5.) a small, dingy, squalid room or house. Hole may be used as a transitive verb describing making a hole or driving into a hole. Related words are holes, holed and holing. Hole comes from the Old English word holian, which means to hollow out, scoop out.

A whole means all the parts of a thing. Whole may be used as a noun or an adjective to signify (1.) completeness, entirety (2.) that an item is undamaged (3.) health (4.) without fraction. Whole may also be employed as an adverb to emphasize novelty. A derived word is wholeness. Whole comes from the Old English hal meaning entire, whole, unhurt, safe, sound, genuine, straightforward.

Examples

With Yuan Devaluation, China Digs a Hole for Commodities (The Wall Street Journal)

The Georgetown Hole, or “Devil’s Hole,” is the stuff of legend — tiers and tiers of deep ocean ledges swarmed by species after species of fish. (The Post and Courier)

The Georgetown Hole, or “Devil’s Hole,” is the stuff of legend — tiers and tiers of deep ocean ledges swarmed by species after species of fish. (The Post and Courier)

He had to undergo an emergency three hour operation to drain the sac with a tube inserted through an incision under his chin, leaving him with a gaping hole. (The Daily Mail)
Unlike some of the newcomers in our grain-conscious culture, oats are readily available in a variety of configurations, from whole hulled groats to quick-cooking flakes. (The Seattle Times)

Burden of student loans a kick in the teeth to whole generation (The New Zealand Herald)

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