bulk
1- magnitude in three dimensions: a ship of great bulk.
- the greater part; main mass or body: The bulk of the debt was paid.
- goods or cargo not in packages or boxes, usually transported in large volume, as grain, coal, or petroleum.
- fiber(def 9).
- (of paper, cardboard, yarn, etc.) thickness, especially in relation to weight.
- the body of a living creature.
- bulk mail.
- being or traded in bulk: bulk grain.
- to increase in size; expand; swell.
- 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.
- to cause to swell, grow, or increase in weight or thickness.
- to gather, bring together, or mix.
- bulk up, to increase the bulk of, especially by increasing the thickness of: Adding four chapters will bulk up the book.
- in bulk,
- unpackaged: Fresh orange juice is shipped from Florida in bulk.
- in large quantities: Those who buy in bulk receive a discount.
Origin of bulk
1Synonym study
Pronunciation note
Related Words for bulking
emerge, hover, overshadow, mount, portend, brew, threaten, dominate, soar, fudge, inflate, overstate, embellish, augment, loom, develop, extend, broaden, magnify, lengthenExamples from the Web for bulking
Contemporary Examples of bulking
His youthful views seem merely that, youthful, like his habit of drinking milk in hope of bulking up his slight, small frame.
Historical Examples of bulking
Ahead the northeast headland of the Isle of Sheppey was bulking large and near.
The Black BagLouis Joseph Vance
She fell to the ground, toppling sidewise, and bulking large.
The Poor Little Rich GirlEleanor Gates
Two rows of hills, shadowy, bulking in the darkness, stretched ahead on either side and the canyon lay between.
The Radio Boys on Secret Service DutyGerald Breckenridge
We like to see our friend moving across the scene he describes, but we dont want to see him bulking large in his own landscape.
The Joys of Being a WomanWinifred Kirkland
A considerable number of the company were now employed in curing or bulking the late catch of pilchards.
Michael PenguyneWilliam H. G. Kingston
bulking
- the expansion of excavated material to a volume greater than that of the excavation from which it came
- an increase in the volume of dry sand when its moisture content is increased
bulk
- volume, size, or magnitude, esp when great
- the main partthe bulk of the work is repetitious
- a large body, esp of a personhe eased his bulk out of the chair
- the part of food which passes unabsorbed through the digestive systemhe 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 bulk
- in large quantities
- (of a cargo, etc) unpackaged
- to cohere or cause to cohere in a mass
- to place, hold, or transport (several cargoes of goods) in bulk
- bulk large to be or seem important or prominentthe problem bulked large in his mind
Word Origin for bulk
usage
Word Origin and History for bulking
bulk
mid-15c., "a heap," earlier "ship's cargo" (mid-14c.), from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse bulki "a heap; ship's cargo," thus "goods loaded loose" (perhaps literally "rolled-up load"), from Proto-Germanic *bul-, from PIE root *bhel- (2) "to blow, inflate, swell" (see bole).
Meaning extended by confusion with obsolete bouk "belly" (from Old English buc "body, belly," from Proto-Germanic *bukaz; see bucket), which led to sense of "size," first attested mid-15c.
bulk
"swell, become more massive," 1550s (usually with up), from bulk (n.). Related: Bulked; bulking.
Idioms and Phrases with bulking
bulk
see in bulk.