bulk

1 of 3

noun

ˈbəlk How to pronounce bulk (audio)
 also  ˈbu̇lk
1
a
: magnitude
impressed by the sheer bulk of her accomplishment
b
biology : material that forms a mass in the intestine
especially : fiber sense 1d
need more bulk in their diet
2
a
: body
especially : a large or corpulent human body
he hauled his … bulk out of the armchair Herman Wouk
b
: an organized structure especially when viewed primarily as a mass of material
the giant bulk of Mt. KatahdinJackson Rivers
c
: a ponderous shapeless mass
3
: the main or greater part
spent the bulk of his time in the office
the bulk of the population

bulk

2 of 3

verb

bulked; bulking; bulks

transitive verb

1
: to cause to swell or bulge : stuff
bulk out a report with lots of graphs and charts
2
: to gather into a mass or aggregate

intransitive verb

1
2
: to appear as a factor : loom
a consideration that bulks large in everyone's thinking

bulk

3 of 3

adjective

1
: being in large quantities or not divided into separate units : being in bulk
bulk shipments of food
bulk mailings
2
: of or relating to materials in bulk
bulk prices
Phrases
in bulk
1
: not divided into parts or packaged in separate units
2
: in large quantities
buys rice in bulk
Choose the Right Synonym for bulk

bulk, mass, volume mean the aggregate that forms a body or unit.

bulk implies an aggregate that is impressively large, heavy, or numerous.

the darkened bulk of the skyscrapers

mass suggests an aggregate made by piling together things of the same kind.

a mass of boulders

volume applies to an aggregate without shape or outline and capable of flowing or fluctuating.

a tremendous volume of water

Examples of bulk in a Sentence

Noun We spent the bulk of the summer at the beach. Farming makes up the bulk of the country's economy. The great bulk of these people are extremely poor. Despite his bulk, he's a very fast runner. Adjective They sent bulk shipments of food to the country.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Assembly Bill 1333, authored by Ward, would ban developers from selling homes in bulk to big investors. Calmatters, Orange County Register, 7 Mar. 2024 The Smaller the Bite, the Better The most meager appetizers are offered up in bulk for a reason. Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024 Prices for precious metals such as gold, which accounts for a bulk of the company’s revenue, have been ruling at near all-time highs in recent months, driven by easing inflation and slower interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Trefis Team, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Those changes reduce bulk and remove stitchwork that could impede the textile’s ability to stretch. Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2024 They’ve been paid the vast bulk of their salary for the year anyway. Stephen Whyno, Twin Cities, 2 Feb. 2024 For Kansas City area kombucha lovers, her brews will still be available at area Whole Foods and Natural Grocers and, of course, customers can buy in bulk from Crossroads and Olathe locations. Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2024 Now that vast stores of personal genomic, geolocation, health and finance data are available commercially, officials are concerned that foreign adversaries can simply buy the information in bulk from brokers without users’ knowledge or consent. Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2024 South Bay lovers of baked goods are stuffing themselves silly, buying in bulk for the freezer — and crossing their fingers. Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024
Verb
The two streaming services, Max/Discovery+ (95 million global subscribers) and Paramount+ (63 million subs), are seen as subscale compared to the offerings from Netflix (247 million subscribers) or Disney+ (105 million core subs), with a merger helping to bulk them up. Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Dec. 2023 Harris hasn’t strayed too far off the Halloween path, bulking her filmography with appearances in scary movies like See No Evil (2014) and Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn (2015) and portraying a member of the Manson family cult in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). Sophie T. Stern, Peoplemag, 18 Oct. 2023 Even professional bodybuilders are always cutting and then bulking. Men's Health, 6 June 2023 After bulking itself up when the U.K. was in Europe aiming to become part of the biggest exchange in the EU, after Brexit the exchange has shrunk, selling off the Italian Stock Exchange and buying for a huge sum a chunk of the old Reuters. Clem Chambers, Forbes, 4 May 2023 But insoluble fiber, the type that turns to gel when mixed with liquid, actually bulks your stools and helps prevent diarrhea, Cassell says. Perri O. Blumberg, Men's Health, 15 Mar. 2023 So the media companies need to bulk out. Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2022 Heavy weights will bulk you up. Star Tribune, 22 Jan. 2021 Bolden expects the Buckeyes to bulk the young hammer up to further enhance his physical game. Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 21 Dec. 2022
Adjective
According to Windward, the number of bulk carriers anchoring outside ports to the north and south of the Suez Canal surged 225% Wednesday compared with the previous day. Hanna Ziady, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024 The supervisors, meanwhile, did not explain or even discuss Horn’s funding request on Tuesday before unanimously approving the money — part of a bulk vote that contained numerous agenda items. Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024 Storage bins with bulk foods in them were open during Wednesday’s inspection. Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2024 Colors: 6 options / Material: Cotton, spandex / Fit: Tight / Sheer: Semi-sheer Pros: Relatively affordable; easy to buy in bulk Cons: Might be too cropped; semi-sheer Save on the best tank tops for women with these Skims promo codes. Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 29 Feb. 2024 While the logic of bulk purchasing in traditional advertising mediums like TV, where agencies could secure better rates as wholesale buyers, held merit, this approach is outdated in the digital advertising sphere. Aleks Farseev, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Online bulk candy distributor candystore.com surveys customers, manufacturers and distributors every year to determine each state's favorite festive candy. Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024 While some might be looking for cabinetry for bulk items like cleaning products or sporting goods, others could be more interested in using the garage as an office space. Blake Bakkila, Sunset Magazine, 19 Feb. 2024 Only Email Sent To Personal Gmail Accounts Will Be Rejected These changes will only impact bulk emails sent to personal Gmail accounts. Davey Winder, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun, Verb, and Adjective

Middle English, heap, bulk, from Old Norse bulki cargo

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1529, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Adjective

1693, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bulk was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near bulk

Cite this Entry

“Bulk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bulk. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bulk

1 of 3 noun
1
: greatness of size or mass : volume
2
: a large body or mass
3
: the main or greater part
did the bulk of the work
4

bulk

2 of 3 verb
1
: to cause to swell or bulge
2
: to appear as a consideration
an issue that bulks large in her mind

bulk

3 of 3 adjective
: being in bulk
bulk foods

Medical Definition

bulk

noun
: material (as indigestible fibrous residues of food) that forms a mass in the intestine
especially : fiber sense 2

Legal Definition

bulk

1 of 2 noun
: a large mass

bulk

2 of 2 adjective
1
: being in bulk
bulk shipment of wheat
bulk foods
2
: of or relating to materials in bulk
bulk buyer

More from Merriam-Webster on bulk

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