bulge

[buhlj]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bulge ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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), bulged, bulg·ing.

to swell or bend outward; be protuberant.

to be filled to capacity: The box bulged with cookies.

verb (used with object), bulged, bulg·ing.

to make protuberant; cause to swell.

Origin of bulge

1200–50; Middle English: bag, hump < Old French < Latin bulga bag < Celtic; compare Irish bolg bag

Related formsbulg·ing·ly, adverbout·bulge, verb, out·bulged, out·bulg·ing.

Synonyms for bulge

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bulge ON THESAURUS.COM

4. protrude, project, stick out.

Pronunciation note

See bulk¹.

Bulge

[buhlj]

noun

Battle of the, the final major German counteroffensive in World War II, begun December 16, 1944, and thrusting deep into Allied territory in N and E Belgium: repulsed January 1945.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bulge

wart, lump, nodule, protrude, swell, sag, bloat, projection, bump, swelling, promontory, growth, excrescence, dilation, bunch, protrusion, salient, hump, sac, blob

Examples from the Web for bulge

Contemporary Examples of bulge

Targeting pods can bulge out a bit, and leak out unwanted signals.
Newest U.S. Stealth Fighter ‘10 Years Behind’ Older Jets
Dave Majumdar
December 26, 2014
A nation that not 20 years ago was struggling with malnutrition, Brazil is now waging an all-too-familiar battle of the bulge.
Meet the Chef Fighting to Ensure That Brazilians Will Never Be as Fat as Americans
Brandon Presser
June 25, 2014
I saw you offered advice to Jon Hamm about how to handle the fascination over his bulge?
‘It’s Too Big’: Meet Jonah Falcon, the Man With the World’s Largest Penis
Kevin Fallon
May 6, 2013
Lately, the name Jon Hamm and the word “bulge” have become synonymous.
‘Mad Men’: Jon Hamm’s Penis is Too Big for Clothes, Needs Airbrushing
Anna Klassen
March 20, 2013
He has searched Belgium for Americans shot down in the Battle of the Bulge.
Can This Dog Solve the Black Dahlia Homicide?
Christine Pelisek
February 3, 2013

Historical Examples of bulge

They ran until the bulge of the inner globe all but hid the plane from them.
Lords of the Stratosphere
Arthur J. Burks
Positives do not swell or bulge as they discharge, but shed the active material.
The Automobile Storage Battery
O. A. Witte
"You've got the bulge on me this time, guv'nor," he admitted ruefully.
The Grell Mystery
Frank Froest
Peters bulged at any point, that bulge must be caused by a pistol.
The Girl on the Boat
Pelham Grenville Wodehouse
The bulge is now a heap and ruin of burnt and tumbled mud and chalk.
The Old Front Line
John Masefield

British Dictionary definitions for bulge

bulge

noun

a swelling or an outward curve

a sudden increase in number or volume, esp of population

British another name for baby boom

British the projecting part of an army's front line; salient

verb

to swell outwards

Derived Formsbulging, adjectivebulgingly, adverbbulgy, adjectivebulginess, noun

Word Origin for bulge

C13: from Old French bouge, from Latin bulga bag, probably of Gaulish origin

Bulge

noun

Battle of the Bulge (in World War II) the final major German counteroffensive in 1944 when the Allied forces were pushed back into NE Belgium; the Germans were repulsed by Jan 1945

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bulge

c.1200, "wallet, leather bag," from Old French bouge, boulge "wallet, pouch, leather bag," or directly from Latin bulga "leather sack" (see budget (n.)). Sense of "a swelling" is first recorded 1620s. Bilge (q.v.) might be a nautical variant.

"to protrude, swell out," 1670s, from bulge (n.). Related: Bulged; bulging.