adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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bulkinessnoun
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overbulkinessnoun
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overbulkyadjective
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unbulkyadjective
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bulkilyadverb
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overbulkilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of bulky
Explanation
A giant box you need to carry to the post office, clothes you wear in the snow — both of these things are bulky or large and difficult to deal with. Inside the word bulky you see the word bulk which refers to the size of something, usually something large. When something is bulky, it has a lot of size or heft, though it is not necessarily heavy. Pillows, for example, are bulky. It's just big in an inconvenient way. Thick yarn, or a sweater made from thick yarn, is also said to be bulky. It's thicker than your average yarn.
Vocabulary lists containing bulky
Fish in a Tree
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The Boy Who Invented TV
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Everything, Everything
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A swimming robot does not necessarily need a bulky motor or powerful mechanical parts to move through water.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
In South Korea, Starbucks has told customers to stop bringing "bulky items" into their stores, after some patrons reportedly hogged seats with printers and desktop computers in tow.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
They said Meta may have finally cracked virtually-reality glasses with a lighter and less bulky offering.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
His high-tech resource was the bulky but immensely helpful Thomas Bros. guide to the streets and highways of Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
And one of the bulky, freestanding wardrobes was backed up against it.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Albertans seem “bigger, bulkier, more assertive, more opinionated than other Canadians.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Like skinny jeans, they eventually became unavoidable — and thus a bit stale, giving way to looser fits and bulkier “dad” sneakers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
Machines capable of taking glass are significantly more expensive and bulkier than those used for plastic bottles and cans.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
Luggage in the first half of the 20th century was much weightier and bulkier, designed for people with the means to have helpers carry their luggage for them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2025
A turtle turned up, a different kind this time, a green sea turtle, bulkier and smoother-shelled, but curious in the same fixed way as a hawksbill.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
The bulkiest and most elaborate productions typically require the space offered by an opera house's main theater, and operas often do provide spectacle on a grand scale.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2024
The first stage of a rocket, its booster, is usually the bulkiest and most powerful section—and the least likely to completely burn up upon reentry.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 3, 2022
Fat Bear Week has become a weeklong, bracket-style elimination contest that pits the bulkiest bears of Katmai National Park against one another.
From New York Times ● Oct. 6, 2022
The bulkiest items catch your eye first - suitcases, jackets and an array of musical instruments.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2022
The full moon shines on the bulkiest lump.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
