bulge
noun
a rounded projection, bend, or protruding part; protuberance; hump.
bulge
1 American
[buhlj]
/ bʌldʒ /
noun
-
bulges
plural
-
a rounded projection, bend, or protruding part; protuberance; hump.
a bulge in a wall.
-
any sudden increase, as of numbers, sales, or prices.
the bulge in profits.
-
a rising in small waves on the surface of a body of water, caused by the action of a fish or fishes in pursuit of food underwater.
verb (used without object)
-
bulges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bulged,
past participle, past
-
bulging
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
bulges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bulged,
past participle, past
-
bulging
present participle
Bulge
2
American
[buhlj]
/ bʌldʒ /
noun
bulge
1
British
/ bʌldʒ /
noun
-
a swelling or an outward curve
-
a sudden increase in number or volume, esp of population
-
another name for baby boom
-
the projecting part of an army's front line; salient
verb
Bulge
2
British
/ bʌldʒ /
noun
Pronunciation
See bulk 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bulgesimple
-
bulgessimple
-
have bulgedperfect
-
has bulgedperfect
-
am bulgingprogressive
-
are bulgingprogressive
-
is bulgingprogressive
-
have been bulgingperfect progressive
-
has been bulgingperfect progressive
Past
-
bulgedsimple
-
had bulgedperfect
-
was bulgingprogressive
-
were bulgingprogressive
-
had been bulgingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bulge
1200–50; Middle English: bag, hump < Old French < Latin bulga bag < Celtic; compare Irish bolg bag
Explanation
To bulge is to stick out, making a bump called a bulge. A leak in the roof might make your ceiling bulge, and a giant feast could make a bulge over your waistband. The word bulge comes from the Old French word bouge for "wallet.” A full wallet makes a bulge in a guy’s back pocket. Bodybuilders' muscles bulge out of their bodies. A pimple is a tiny bulge on your skin. For the record, Battle of the Bulge isn’t a diet plan. It was a battle in World War II. Americans called it the Battle of the Bulge because of the way the Allied front line bulged inward.
Vocabulary lists containing bulge
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish
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A Farewell To Arms
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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:
There’s a huge bulge in the population from the baby boom, and a lot of those people are approaching retirement and own private businesses.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Its galactic bulge survey alone will observe approximately 100 million stars while exploring regions of the Milky Way that remain largely uncharted.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026
After two days of underwhelming big bank earnings, Wall Street’s bulge bracket stepped up to the plate and hit a home run.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
He was so effective guarding Millogo despite having three fouls that Notre Dame turned a five-point halftime lead into a 20-point bulge through three quarters en route to a 71-48 victory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2026
The snake, with its girl-size, midthroat bulge, turned to Jennifer with a strangled hiss.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
In December 1944, Trautman—who had by this time been promoted to lieutenant colonel—was trapped behind enemy lines during the Battle of the Bulge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The team plans to use Roman's future Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey, which will repeatedly observe millions of stars in enormous sections of the sky.
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2026
“My dad fought in the Battle of the Bulge, right?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026
Another shell casing, authorities say, read "NoTices Bulge OWO What's This?" - a reference to a meme about furry subculture and online roleplaying.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2025
When Billy joined the regiment, it was in the process of being destroyed by the Germans in the famous Battle of the Bulge.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
Yet the main virtues of the sculpture are its forms themselves: the folds, bulges and edges, and the work’s color—off-off-white for the vessel-like part and simple box base with a bulging layer between them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Still, a buildup bulges outside of the golf course, as security holds fans at the entrance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025
Together, they ripped the genre rulebook to shreds, magpie-ing elements of Afrobeat, hip-hop, grime, reggae, Latin, R&B, highlife and jazz to create a sound that bulges with possibility.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2025
In particular, they studied disruptions in the pedestal called ballooning instabilities: bulges of plasma that jut out, like the end of a long balloon when squeezed.
From Science Daily ● May 28, 2024
The vein in his neck bulges, his head shaking.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
“Maybe we take a break from spending the night at Taylor’s,” he said, as several veins bulged out of his forehead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Outside the sky bulged with clouds so dark they looked like a CG rendition of hell and the mandatory evacuation area was only three blocks away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2025
McConnell chafed at this and his beady little eyes bulged with contempt as he had to choke down the filth Trump spewed.
From Salon ● Feb. 29, 2024
He’s become a mainstay at community events, where children instantly take to his humorous “ghost face” impressions — first spawned by a team photo in which his eyeballs bulged as if he’d seen a ghost.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 10, 2023
The extra material bulged over the tightened belt, but at least she wouldn’t trip.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
What was it about O’Rourke’s bulging bookshelves that got Kilmeade so shirty?
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
Yet the main virtues of the sculpture are its forms themselves: the folds, bulges and edges, and the work’s color—off-off-white for the vessel-like part and simple box base with a bulging layer between them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
The tank in greatest crisis was already bulging on Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
The consumer-price index, due out on Tuesday, is forecast to rise a sharp 0.6% in April after a bulging 0.9% increase in March.
From MarketWatch ● May 11, 2026
Jonah could see bulging muscles where Gary had pushed up his sweatshirt sleeves.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Definitions 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.
