bulk
1 Americannoun
-
magnitude in three dimensions, especially great size or extent: a defensive tackle better known for his bulk than for his speed and agility.
a ship of massive bulk;
a defensive tackle better known for his bulk than for his speed and agility.
-
a body or mass, especially a large one: The granite bulk can be seen for 100 miles in many directions.
The humpback whale was pushing its bulk through the water.
The granite bulk can be seen for 100 miles in many directions.
-
the greater part; main mass or body.
The bulk of the debt was paid.
-
Transportation. bulk cargo.
-
(of paper, cardboard, yarn, etc.) thickness, especially in relation to weight.
adjective
verb (used without object)
-
bulks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bulked,
past participle, past
-
bulking
present participle
-
to be of or give the appearance of great weight, size, or importance.
The problem bulks large in his mind.
-
(of paper, cardboard, yarn, etc.) to be of or to acquire a specific thickness, especially in relation to weight.
-
to gather, form, or mix into a cohesive or uniform mass.
verb (used with object)
-
bulks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bulked,
past participle, past
-
bulking
present participle
-
to cause to swell, grow, or increase in weight or thickness.
-
to gather, bring together, or mix.
verb phrase
idioms
noun
noun
-
volume, size, or magnitude, esp when great
-
the main part
the bulk of the work is repetitious
-
a large body, esp of a person
he eased his bulk out of the chair
-
the part of food which passes unabsorbed through the digestive system
he eased his bulk out of the chair
-
unpackaged cargo or goods
-
a ship's cargo or hold
-
printing
-
the thickness of a number of sheets of paper or cardboard
-
the thickness of a book excluding its covers
-
-
(plural) copies of newspapers sold in bulk at a discounted price to hotels, airlines, etc which issue them free to their customers
-
-
in large quantities
-
(of a cargo, etc) unpackaged
-
verb
-
to cohere or cause to cohere in a mass
-
to place, hold, or transport (several cargoes of goods) in bulk
-
to be or seem important or prominent
the problem bulked large in his mind
Pronunciation
Bulk and bulge most often are pronounced with the vowel of buck. In South Midland and Southern U.S. the of book and bull commonly occurs among all speakers. Standard British speech has only . Both types exist in British regional speech, and both were brought to the colonies, where each came to predominate in a different area and was carried west by migration.
Usage
The use of a plural noun after bulk was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable
Synonym Usage
See size 1.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bulksimple
-
bulkssimple
-
have bulkedperfect
-
has bulkedperfect
-
am bulkingprogressive
-
are bulkingprogressive
-
is bulkingprogressive
-
have been bulkingperfect progressive
-
has been bulkingperfect progressive
Past
-
bulkedsimple
-
had bulkedperfect
-
was bulkingprogressive
-
were bulkingprogressive
-
had been bulkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bulk1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English bolke, bulke “heap, cargo, hold,” from Old Norse bulki “cargo, ship's hold”
Origin of bulk2
First recorded in 1580–90; of uncertain origin; perhaps from Old Norse bálkr “partition, balk”
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing bulk
Beowulf vocabulary
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Lawn Boy
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The Mayor of Casterbridge
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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:
However, the bulk of its population is in the Rio Grande Valley, and both candidates live there.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
And, just like the bulk of Smart’s roster, each of those three stars committed to Georgia straight out of high school.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
She also bought a box of full-size Hersey bars in bulk, paying, she says, $30 for 30 chocolates.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Economists attribute to immigrants the bulk of U.S. population growth from 1990 to 2015.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
Farming societies have, until very recently, relied for the great bulk of their calorie intake on a small variety of domesticated plants.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
He said he appreciated calls for "quality guardrails" but warned that "we lack the regulatory authority that put those guardrails in place" on the bulks list.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
While it bulks up, the expansion in its markets’ business balance sheet also weighed on Wells Fargo’s net interest margin in the first quarter, the bank told analysts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
Each substance would have to be reviewed individually before it could be added to the bulks list.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026
For a man who has always emphasised his desire to play good football, he cannot have enjoyed what he has seen for bulks of this season.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026
Five boys and a girl had forged those scars with the bulks of their unborn selves.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Vo’s own go-to Taco Bell order audaciously nods at the chain’s encouragement of personalization: A chicken quesadilla bulked up with steak and ground beef.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
China has bulked up its coast guard with the world’s longest coast guard patrol ships and the addition of converted naval vessels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
In mitigation, he initially struggled with the intensity and physicality of Premier League football but has bulked up considerably since making the move from Bayer Leverkusen.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
Those enhancements include better brand assortment, enhanced in-store experience, bulked up staffing, and seamless digital integration.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
The great ribbed belly of the zeppelin bulked over the bomb, straining at its cables in the wind, its silver sides running with moisture.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
That time has largely passed, but he still recommends bulking up flavors with celery seed, anise and cumin, all of which naturally contain sodium.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
For Anthropic, bulking up its enterprise sales strategy comes at a time when investors are looking for signs of business maturity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
He had to "change everything" about himself for the role, from growing an "awful beard" to changing his hair and bulking up his muscles.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
Jason Schloetzer, a business professor at Georgetown University, said in an interview that tech companies were still shrinking staff after bulking up during the pandemic.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 1, 2026
“Looks like the away team really puts an emphasis on bulking up.”
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
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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.
