What does wholefood mean?
Wholefood is a term for food that has been kept close to its natural state and has undergone little or no processing. It may be eaten fresh or may be dried, milled, canned, frozen, or otherwise prepared without refined ingredients or artificial additives. The word is especially established in British English, where it is usually written as one word, while “whole food” with two words is more common in American usage. As an adjective, wholefood characteristically modifies nouns such as diet, shop, and product; as a noun, it names food of this kind and is usually treated as a mass noun. The term carries positive health and environmental associations, but it does not itself mean organic. It is consequently more a category of minimally processed food than a formal label for a particular production method. Wholefood is useful in discussions of diet because it distinguishes such food from products heavily processed or stripped of recognizable plant or animal components.
Relating to or consisting of food that has undergone little or no processing and remains close to its natural state.
"She follows a wholefood diet based largely on grains, beans, fruit, and vegetables."
Most often used attributively before a noun such as diet, shop, or product.
Food made from plant or animal materials with minimal processing and no refined ingredients or artificial additives.
"The restaurant serves inexpensive wholefood made from seasonal produce."
Usually a mass noun; plural wholefoods is uncommon and is used mainly for distinct kinds or categories.
The plural is uncommon because wholefood is normally used as a mass noun; it generally denotes distinct kinds or varieties of minimally processed food.
"The shop stocks wholefoods from several small local producers."
The word joins two Old English elements, giving it a lineage centuries older than the modern movement that made wholefood a familiar label.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of wholefood
Wholefood is a compound of whole and food. Whole derives from Old English hāl, meaning “whole” or “entire,” while food derives from Old English fōda, meaning “food” or “nourishment”; both elements are Germanic in origin. The closed compound became especially established in British usage during the late twentieth century, although “whole food” and the hyphenated “whole-food” are also encountered.
Related word forms
How wholefood is actually used
The one-word form is especially established in British English; American usage more often separates the words as “whole food.” The noun is normally a mass noun, and the plural is uncommon. As an adjective, wholefood is most frequently used attributively.
Easily confused with wholefood
Wholefood is a broad category of minimally processed food, whereas wholemeal specifically describes grain or flour that retains its bran and germ.
Wholefood emphasizes minimal processing, while organic identifies food produced according to specified agricultural and processing standards.