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definitions

bulge

[ buhlj ]
/ bʌldʒ /
||
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.

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RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

  1. bulganin,
  2. bulganin, nikolai aleksandrovich,
  3. bulgar,
  4. bulgaria,
  5. bulgarian,
  6. bulge, battle of the,
  7. bulger,
  8. bulgur,
  9. bulgy,
  10. bulimarexia

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.

Pronunciation note

See bulk1.

Definition for bulge (2 of 2)

Bulge

[ buhlj ]
/ bʌldʒ /

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

Examples from the Web for bulge

British Dictionary definitions for bulge (1 of 2)

bulge

/ (bʌldʒ) /

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

British Dictionary definitions for bulge (2 of 2)

Bulge

/ (bʌldʒ) /

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