the.com/whole number
An integer that never learned about fractions and refuses to apologize for it.
means A number with no fractional or decimal part — like 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on — used for counting whole, undivided things.
from Straightforward English compounding rather than borrowed roots: 'whole,' from Old English 'hāl' (meaning healthy, entire, unbroken — the same root behind 'heal' and 'hale'), paired with 'number' from Latin 'numerus.' The phrase emerged in mathematical usage to distinguish undivided quantities from fractions, with 'whole' doing the job of saying 'complete, not broken into parts' — the same sense it carries when you talk about a whole apple versus a half-eaten one.
- includes zero
- yes, zero counts, it is not optional
- no negatives
- usually means 0, 1, 2, 3, forever
- math drama
- mathematicians still argue its exact definition
- not a decimal
- 3.0 is suspicious, 3 is trustworthy