Word Confusion: Hole versus Whole

Posted May 24, 2012 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
6 July 2023

Victor Tookes commented about an hysterically funny word confusion regarding hole and whole. It just goes to show that everyone needs a proofreader . . .

Many of the confusions I come across are words out of context — brake vs break, mail vs male — but the mind boggles at asswhole. I got nothin’.

One comment I must add . . . it does sound as though the guy was at least consistent . . . snicker . . . chuckle . . . oh, heck, outright guffaw . . . I did so enjoy your share, Victor! Thanks, Kathy

Victor’s share:

“I absolutely cannot describe how annoying the whole/hole mistake is. I recently read an indie zombie novel that used “asswhole” throughout the book, and then talked about the “hole world”. It was an exact flip-flop.

After a while, I started to think about maybe it’s worse to be an asswhole. I mean, if we call someone an ass, or a specific part of the ass, wouldn’t it be worse to be the whole thing?

And what about those poor people who live in the “hole world”? What do you think their life is like, their entire existence carried out underground in a tiny hole in the ground.”

You may also want to explore “Holey vs Holly vs Holy vs Wholly“, “Hold versus Holed“, and/or “Holed versus Hulled“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

If you found this post on “Hole versus Whole” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

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Hole	Whole
Big Pothole is in the public domain and courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Uncl3dad.	Whole Onion is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Darwin Bell. — A whole purple onion.
Part of Grammar:
Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive Noun plural: holes Gerund: holing Third person present verb: holes Past tense or past participle: holed Present participle: holing	Adjective; Adverb; Noun Plural for the noun: wholes
Noun: Hollow place in a solid body or surface Animal burrow Aperture passing through something [Golf] Cavity or receptacle on a golf course, typically one of eighteen or nine, into which the ball must be hit [Golf] A hole as representing a division of a golf course or of play in golf [Physics] A position from which an electron is absent, especially one regarded as a mobile carrier of positive charge in a semiconductor [In place names] A valley [Informal] Small or unpleasant place [Informal] Awkward situation Verb, intransitive: Make a hole or holes in [Golf] Hit the ball so that it falls into a hole Verb, transitive: Make a hole or holes in [Golf] Hit the ball so that it falls into a hole	Adjective: [Attrib.] All of [Attrib.] Entire Used to emphasize a large extent or number In an unbroken or undamaged state In one piece [Attrib.] Of milk, blood, or other substances with no part removed [Predic.] Healthy Adverb: [Informal] Emphasizes the novelty or distinctness of something Noun: A thing that is complete in itself All of something
Examples:
Noun: What an asshole! Is that a hole in the ground? He dug out a small hole in the snow. Watch out for that rabbit hole. He had a hole in his sock. Yeah? How many strokes did it take for you to make that hole on the 15th? Stephen lost the first three holes to Eric. Jackson Hole is renowned for its skiing. She had wasted a whole lifetime in this hole of a town. You’ll have to get yourself out of the hole you’re in. We’re still three thousand dollars in the hole. Margaret really blew a hole in that argument. My clothes are in holes. Christmas can make a big hole in your savings. Please, I need that like I need a hole in my head. Poor thing, he’s a square peg in a round hole. Verb, intransitive: He holed in one at the third. She’s holed up. Paul’s holing out. Verb, transitive: Yeah, we had to hole up in this grungy little town. A fuel tank was holed by the attack and a fire started. We took alternate shots from each partner until the ball was holed.	Adjective: He’s got the whole world in his hands. He was the nicest person in the whole world. Many escaped the fire frightened but whole. After the treatment he felt whole. The baby cried the whole way home. He manufactured it all out of whole cloth! Adverb: Yup, he gives a whole new meaning to the idea of needing a proofreader. He’s the man who’s given a whole new meaning to the term cowboy. It was a whole new idea to me. He tried to swallow a plum whole. Noun: All those bits and pieces come together to create a whole. He spent the whole day walking. She wasn’t telling the whole truth. Whole shelves in libraries are devoted to the subject. The effects will last for the whole of his life. It was a whole lot of money. Owls usually swallow their prey whole. I much prefer whole milk. All people should be whole in body, mind, and spirit. We’re going to go the whole nine yards on this.
Derivatives:
Adjective: holey	Noun: wholeness
Phrasal Verb
hole out hole up
History of the Word:
Old English hol noun) and holian (transitive) is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch hol a noun meaning cave, an adjective meaning hollow, and the German hohl meaning hollow from an Indo-European root meaning cover, conceal.	Old English hāl is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch heel and the German heil. The spelling with wh- (reflecting a dialect pronunciation with w-) first appeared in the 15th century.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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