bulk

/bəlk/

/bəlk/

Other forms: bulked; bulks; bulking

Don’t be intimidated by the bulk of the dictionary on your desk. If you look in it, you’ll see that bulk is a small word used to talk about large things.

Bulk has a variety of meanings that all involve something large, like the bulk of a ship in the harbor, or the excess bulk of your overweight cat. Bulk can also mean “majority,” as when the bulk of your diet is tater tots and guacamole. You can expect to put on a lot of bulk if you eat like that.

Definitions of bulk

1. noun

   the property possessed by a large mass
   type of:

   mass

   the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
2. noun

   the property of something that is great in magnitude
   “it is cheaper to buy it in bulk”

   synonyms: mass, volume

   types:

   dollar volume, turnover

   the volume measured in dollars

   type of:

   magnitude

   the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small)
3. noun

   the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part
   “the bulk of the work is finished”

   synonyms: majority

   type of:

   figure, number

   the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
4. verb

   stick out or up
   “The parcel bulked in the sack”

   type of:

   bulge, pouch, protrude

   swell or protrude outwards
5. verb

   cause to bulge or swell outwards
   synonyms: bulge

   type of:

   swell

   cause to become swollen