adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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bulkinessnoun
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overbulkinessnoun
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overbulkyadjective
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unbulkyadjective
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bulkilyadverb
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overbulkilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of bulky
Explanation
A giant box you need to carry to the post office, clothes you wear in the snow — both of these things are bulky or large and difficult to deal with. Inside the word bulky you see the word bulk which refers to the size of something, usually something large. When something is bulky, it has a lot of size or heft, though it is not necessarily heavy. Pillows, for example, are bulky. It's just big in an inconvenient way. Thick yarn, or a sweater made from thick yarn, is also said to be bulky. It's thicker than your average yarn.
Vocabulary lists containing bulky
Fish in a Tree
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The Boy Who Invented TV
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Everything, Everything
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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.
"Athletes' bodies don't look their best in suits, they can look a bit bulky, so trousers can fall a weird way. This look is moving with the times."
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
“Management sees a broader market” once the company condenses its bulky, rack-mounted systems into smaller chips in a few years, he wrote.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
His alarm clock, a big and bulky machine that’s Bluetooth-connected to the house’s fire alarm, rattles his room until he finally shuts it off.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
Ferrari unveiled a model, the Purosangue, in 2022, presenting a twist on the traditionally more bulky SUVs.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
I stopped breathing when I saw Fred’s hand wrapped around the huge snail shell, his thin wrist and bulky watch.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
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.
