How to Use whole number in a Sentence

whole number

noun
  • The nursery is making the same argument as St. Germain about the rounding of the scores to the nearest whole number.
    Sun-Sentinel.com, 1 Nov. 2017
  • The question is: Is there any whole number solution for xn + yn = zn?
    Andrew Moseman, Popular Mechanics, 1 Sep. 2017
  • The question is: Is there any whole number solution for xn yn = zn?
    Andrew Moseman, Popular Mechanics, 1 Sep. 2017
  • Havens’s problem is an example of Pell’s equation, which is an equation of the form x2−Ny2=1 where N is a whole number that is not a square.
    Evelyn Lamb, Popular Mechanics, 23 Feb. 2021
  • But as the stylebook notes, a workweek or other labor schedule could be viewed in whole numbers.
    WSJ, 27 Nov. 2023
  • Each whole number increase — from, say, 3 to 4, or 6 to 7 — is a tenfold increase in amplitude.
    Madalyn Amato, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2021
  • Data in the thousands were rounded to whole numbers while numbers in the millions were rounded to the first decimal point.
    Rachel Lerman, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2023
  • There's a whole number of experts from all countries around the world participating in this.
    Foreign Affairs, 17 July 2023
  • Hippasus was a member of the Pythagorean brotherhood, a sect that held that the world is structured by whole numbers and their ratios.
    Amir Alexander, WSJ, 7 June 2019
  • Fill measuring cups and spoons with water or flour to introduce your kids to whole numbers and fractions.
    Parents Editors, Parents, 23 Aug. 2023
  • Percentages are based on the number of respondents to each question and rounded to the nearest whole number.
    Tom Plaut, The Enquirer, 10 Nov. 2022
  • Integers are just the whole numbers, plus the negative whole numbers and zero.
    Quanta Magazine, 27 June 2023
  • On the magnitude scale, each increase of one whole number translates to 32 times more energy.
    CNN, 8 Feb. 2023
  • Remember, after 100 years, the calendar still isn't off by a whole number.
    Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2012
  • Remember, after 100 years, the calendar still isn’t off by a whole number.
    Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2012
  • Percentages are based on number of respondents to each question and rounded to the nearest whole number.
    Frank P. Leggio Jr., Cincinnati.com, 17 Oct. 2019
  • An irrational number is one that cannot be expressed by a fraction of integers, or whole numbers.
    Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, 11 May 2018
  • As Wired reports, there are a whole number of different ways to do so, with varying degrees of intensity.
    Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, 21 Aug. 2015
  • And since the 19th Century, pi has been known to be transcendental, meaning that no combination of its powers can add up to a whole number.
    Dan Rockmore /, NBC News, 14 Mar. 2018
  • One whole number increase on the scale creates seismic waves with 10 times the amplitude, releasing 32 times the energy.
    Carolyn Y. Johnson, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Feb. 2023
  • The infinity of rational numbers is the same as the infinity of whole numbers.
    Quanta Magazine, 27 June 2023
  • Put differently, the formula xn + yn = zn has no whole number solution when n is greater than 2.
    Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 17 Aug. 2017
  • Put differently, the formula xn yn = zn has no whole number solution when n is greater than 2.
    Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 17 Aug. 2017
  • Prior to the discovery of the Pythagorean Theorem, the Greeks thought all numbers could be expressed as either a whole number or a fraction — a ratio of two whole numbers.
    Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 24 Sep. 2022
  • Burungale and Skinner were able to show that, at least some of the time, if a whole number has a single associated matrix, then that number must be the sum of two rational cubes.
    Erica Klarreich, Quanta Magazine, 29 Nov. 2022
  • Correction: On March 6 this article was updated to clarify that the integers, not the whole numbers, are in a sense the original group.
    Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 2 Mar. 2017
  • Because the amount of time the Earth takes to spin on its axis is not dependent on the amount of time the Earth takes to complete a full orbit around the sun, the number of 24-hour rotations that fit into a calendar year is not a whole number.
    Jacob Livesay, USA TODAY, 24 June 2022
  • But workers who are freelance, on temporary contracts, or in part-time employment register in the headcount as less than a whole number.
    The Economist, 6 Feb. 2020
  • The framers of the Constitution made clear that everyone counted in apportioning Congress (if not in whole numbers).
    Emily Badger, New York Times, 22 June 2019
  • Lively featured a whole number of Elle's designs, along with some very covetable jewelry—and lo and behold, a couple of them are direct tributes/plugs/shoutouts to her husband Ryan Reynolds and all his work.
    Katherine J Igoe, Marie Claire, 19 Dec. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whole number.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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