caboodle

/kə'bu:dl/
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caboodle

She bought the whole caboodle at the yard sale.

Definition

Noun: 1. The entire collection, group, or quantity of something; the whole lot. This word is almost exclusively used in the informal phrase "the whole caboodle" to emphasize the entirety of a set of items, people, or circumstances.

Usage
  • "Caboodle" is almost never used alone. It is a fixed part of the informal idiom "the whole caboodle" (or sometimes "the whole kit and caboodle").
  • It functions as a noun to collectively refer to everything involved in a situation.
  • Register: Informal, colloquial. It adds a slightly old-fashioned or emphatic tone.
Examples
  • When the company was sold, the buildings, the patents, and the client listthe whole caboodle—went to the new owner.
  • I'm tired of dealing with these problems piece by piece. Let's just fix the whole caboodle at once.
  • She didn't just take a few books; she packed up her library, the whole caboodle.
Advanced Usage / Idioms
  • The whole kit and caboodle: This is a longer, more common variant of the idiom. "Kit" refers to a set of tools or equipment, and "caboodle" intensifies it to mean the entire set.
    • They moved out of the house, furniture, car, pets—the whole kit and caboodle.
Variants and Related Words
  • Boodle (noun): An archaic or slang term for a crowd or group, or for money. It is the likely root of "caboodle."
  • The whole shebang (noun, idiom): A direct synonym meaning "everything involved."
  • The whole nine yards (noun, idiom): Another informal synonym for the entirety of something.
Synonyms
  • The entirety
  • The whole lot
  • The whole shebang
  • The whole works
  • Everything
Antonyms
  • A part
  • A portion
  • A piece
  • A fragment
caboodle

She bought the whole caboodle at the yard sale.

Noun
  1. any collection in its entirety
    • she bought the whole caboodle