whole cloth

collocation in English

meaningsofwholeandcloth

These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withcloth.
whole
adjective
uk
/həʊl/us
/hoʊl/
complete or ...
See more atwhole
cloth
noun
uk
/klɒθ/us
/klɑːθ/
(a type of) ...
See more atcloth

(Definition ofwholeandclothfrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)

Examplesofwhole cloth

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Separation-of-powers concerns deter litigants from asking courts to create statutor y law out ofwholecloth.
From theCambridge English Corpus
However, its innovation is better characterized as one of assembling provisions than creating them out ofwholecloth.
From theCambridge English Corpus
The owner of a piece of property will not in any case have created the property ofwholecloth.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Such an eye for the intricacies of warp and woof, not justwholecloth, does two things.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Such a legend as this is not of course made up out ofwholecloth.
From theCambridge English Corpus
A few of them are probably false, fabrications made ofwholeclothintended to support the claims of the seated member or the challenging contender.
From theCambridge English Corpus
In a very real sense, social institutions are never simply cut fromwholeclothand dutifully donned.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Goldberg does not create these distinctions fromwholecloth, of course.
From theCambridge English Corpus
They were creating loans out ofwholecloth.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Quilts made during the early 19th century were not constructed of pieced blocks but were insteadwholeclothquilts.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
He has since become an enthusiastic environmentalist and conservationist, going so far as to create out ofwholeclothlaws prohibiting the harming of tarsiers.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Some weeks it can be a problem invented out ofwholecloth; in the end, this probably wasn't one of those weeks.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
In the historical sphere however, aside from exceptional cases, the material may have been subject to tendential shaping rather than being made out ofwholecloth.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Sutton noted about his character that he was created out ofwholeclothfor the show and was played by ear.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
This genre embraced fantasy, and not only simply followed traditional myths and fables, but, in its final form, boldly created new marvels from thewholecloth.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
The district court specifically concluded the government's case was based on suspicion and hunches, but no proof, and the theory of the prosecution's case waswholecloth, the wildest speculation.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
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