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whole nine yards

whole nine yard
W w

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [hohl nahyn yahrd]
    • /hoʊl naɪn yɑrd/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [hohl nahyn yahrd]
    • /hoʊl naɪn yɑrd/

Definitions of whole nine yards words

  • noun whole nine yards a common unit of linear measure in English-speaking countries, equal to 3 feet or 36 inches, and equivalent to 0.9144 meter. 1
  • noun whole nine yards Nautical. a long spar, supported more or less at its center, to which the head of a square sail, lateen sail, or lugsail is bent. 1
  • noun whole nine yards yard-of-ale. 1
  • noun whole nine yards Informal. a large quantity or extent. 1
  • noun whole nine yards Slang. one hundred or, usually, one thousand dollars. 1
  • idioms whole nine yards the whole nine yards, Informal. everything that is pertinent, appropriate, or available. in all ways; in every respect; all the way: If you want to run for mayor, I'll be with you the whole nine yards. 1

Information block about the term

Origin of whole nine yards

First appearance:

before 900
One of the 4% oldest English words
before 900; Middle English yerd(e), Old English (Anglian) gerd orig., straight twig; cognate with Dutch gard, German Gerte rod

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Whole nine yards

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

whole nine yards popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

whole nine yards usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for whole nine yards

noun whole nine yards

  • absoluteness — the quality of being absolute
  • across the board — If a policy or a situation applies across the board, it affects everything or everyone in a particular group.
  • all — You use all to indicate that you are referring to the whole of a particular group or thing or to everyone or everything of a particular kind.
  • allness — the state of being comprehensive or all-embracing
  • collectivity — the quality or state of being collective

adj whole nine yards

  • imperforate — Also, imperforated. not perforate; having no perforation.
  • complete — You use complete to emphasize that something is as great in extent, degree, or amount as it possibly can be.

adjective whole nine yards

  • gross — without deductions; total, as the amount of sales, salary, profit, etc., before taking deductions for expenses, taxes, or the like (opposed to net2. ): gross earnings; gross sales.

Antonyms for whole nine yards

noun whole nine yards

  • inanimate — not animate; lifeless.
  • none — to no extent; in no way; not at all: The supply is none too great.
  • one — being or amounting to a single unit or individual or entire thing, item, or object rather than two or more; a single: one woman; one nation; one piece of cake.
  • zilch — zero; nothing: The search came up with zilch.

See also

Matching words

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