Whole vs. Hole — What's the Difference?

An opening through something

A cavity or depression

A flaw or defect

A flaw or defect

A cavity or depression

In golf, the target area

In golf, the target area

A hollowed place in something solid; a cavity or pit

Containing all components; complete

An opening or perforation

Not divided or disjoined; in one unit

(Sports) An opening in a defensive formation, such as the area of a baseball infield between two adjacent fielders.

Constituting the full amount, extent, or duration

A fault or flaw

Not wounded, injured, or impaired; sound or unhurt

A deep place in a body of water.

Having been restored; healed

An animal's hollowed-out habitation, such as a burrow.

Having the same parents

An ugly, squalid, or depressing dwelling.

A number, group, set, or thing lacking no part or element; a complete thing.

A deep or isolated place of confinement; a dungeon.

An entity or system made up of interrelated parts

An awkward situation; a predicament.

Entirely; wholly

The small pit lined with a cup into which a golf ball must be hit.

Entire, undivided.

One of the divisions of a golf course, from tee to cup.

Used as an intensifier.

(Physics) A vacant position in an atom left by the absence of a valence electron, especially a position in a semiconductor that acts as a carrier of positive electric charge. Also called electron hole.

Sound, uninjured, healthy.

To put a hole in.

(of food) From which none of its constituents has been removed.

To put or propel into a hole.

(mining) As yet unworked.

To make a hole in something.

(colloquial) In entirety; entirely; wholly.

A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure.

Something complete, without any parts missing.

An opening that goes all the way through a solid body, a fabric, etc.; a perforation; a rent.

An entirety.

(heading) In games.

Containing the total amount, number, etc.; comprising all the parts; free from deficiency; all; total; entire; as, the whole earth; the whole solar system; the whole army; the whole nation.

(golf) A subsurface standard-size hole, also called cup, hitting the ball into which is the object of play. Each hole, of which there are usually eighteen as the standard on a full course, is located on a prepared surface, called the green, of a particular type grass.

Complete; entire; not defective or imperfect; not broken or fractured; unimpaired; uninjured; integral; as, a whole orange; the egg is whole; the vessel is whole.

(golf) The part of a game in which a player attempts to hit the ball into one of the holes.

Possessing, or being in a state of, heath and soundness; healthy; sound; well.

(baseball) The rear portion of the defensive team between the shortstop and the third baseman.

The entire thing; the entire assemblage of parts; totality; all of a thing, without defect or exception; a thing complete in itself.

(chess) A square on the board, with some positional significance, that a player does not, and cannot in future, control with a friendly pawn.

A regular combination of parts; a system.

(stud poker) A card (also called a hole card) dealt face down thus unknown to all but its holder; the status in which such a card is.

All of something including all its component elements or parts;

In the game of fives, part of the floor of the court between the step and the pepperbox.

An assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity;

An excavation pit or trench.

Including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete;

(figuratively) A weakness; a flaw or ambiguity.

(of siblings) having the same parents;

(informal) A container or receptacle.

Exhibiting or restored to vigorous good health;

(physics) In semiconductors, a lack of an electron in an occupied band behaving like a positively charged particle.

To a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly');

(computing) A security vulnerability in software which can be taken advantage of by an exploit.

A difficult situation

An orifice, in particular the anus. When used with shut it always refers to the mouth.

Sex, or a sex partner.

Solitary confinement, a high-security prison cell often used as punishment.

(slang) An undesirable place to live or visit.

(figurative) Difficulty, in particular, debt.

(graph theory) A chordless cycle in a graph.

A passing loop; a siding provided for trains traveling in opposite directions on a single-track line to pass each other.

(transitive) To make holes in (an object or surface).

To destroy.

(intransitive) To go into a hole.

(transitive) To drive into a hole, as an animal, or a billiard ball or golf ball.

(transitive) To cut, dig, or bore a hole or holes in.

Whole.

A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; an opening in or through a solid body, a fabric, etc.; a perforation; a rent; a fissure.

An excavation in the ground, made by an animal to live in, or a natural cavity inhabited by an animal; hence, a low, narrow, or dark lodging or place; a mean habitation.

A small cavity used in some games, usually one into which a marble or ball is to be played or driven; hence, a score made by playing a marble or ball into such a hole, as in golf.

To cut, dig, or bore a hole or holes in; as, to hole a post for the insertion of rails or bars.

To drive into a hole, as an animal, or a billiard ball.

To go or get into a hole.

An opening into or through something

An opening deliberately made in or through something

One playing period (from tee to green) on a golf course;

An unoccupied space

A depression hollowed out of solid matter

A fault;

Informal terms for a difficult situation;

Informal terms for the mouth

Hit the ball into the hole

Make holes in

An opening through something

A difficult situation

Yes, such as "the whole nine yards" meaning everything or all of it.

No, "whole" is typically used as an adjective or noun, not a verb.

Yes, the plural form is "holes."

Yes, for example, "hole in the wall" often refers to a small, unpretentious place.

Yes, it's often used in contexts like "whole foods" or "whole-body wellness."

Yes, such as entire, complete, or intact.

Yes, especially in golf where it refers to the target area.

Generally, yes. It often has a positive connotation of completeness.

Yes, it can denote a difficult or unpleasant situation, as in "dig oneself into a hole."

Yes, synonyms include opening, gap, or cavity.

Yes, as in "whole numbers," referring to non-fractional numbers.

Yes, they sound the same but have different meanings and spellings.

Yes, it can imply being uninjured or undamaged.

Yes, it often indicates the absence of material or space.

Sometimes, particularly when it refers to deficits or problems.