on the whole
"on-the-whole" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“on the whole” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a prep_phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - For the most part; apart from some insignificant details.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | on the whole |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep_phrase |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “on the whole” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for on the whole is 12 letters long, classified as a prep_phrase. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "For the most part; apart from some insignificant details.".
on the whole doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is on the whole, spelled O-N- -T-H-E- -W-H-O-L-E.
Definition
- 1For the most part; apart from some insignificant details.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "on the whole"?
What does "on the whole" mean?
What language does "on the whole" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “on the whole”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-N- -T-H-E- -W-H-O-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.