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.
See Examples For:
Its relatively simple construction could also make the technology easier to manufacture on a large scale, potentially bringing sophisticated optical measurements to devices where conventional spectrometers would be too bulky or expensive.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
In South Korea, Starbucks has told customers to stop bringing "bulky items" into their stores, after some patrons reportedly hogged seats with printers and desktop computers in tow.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
They said Meta may have finally cracked virtually-reality glasses with a lighter and less bulky offering.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
His high-tech resource was the bulky but immensely helpful Thomas Bros. guide to the streets and highways of Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
It's shaped like the bulky water jug her mother-in-law gave her, the one Ranee always hated.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
Albertans seem “bigger, bulkier, more assertive, more opinionated than other Canadians.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Like skinny jeans, they eventually became unavoidable — and thus a bit stale, giving way to looser fits and bulkier “dad” sneakers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
Machines capable of taking glass are significantly more expensive and bulkier than those used for plastic bottles and cans.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
But e-bikes can go up to 28 mph — well above the Strand’s 8 mph speed limit — and are usually heavier and bulkier than regular bikes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2023
It was massive, bulkier than the spirits in the club, and its shimmering darkness seemed to churn endlessly like black lava.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
The bulkiest and most elaborate productions typically require the space offered by an opera house's main theater, and operas often do provide spectacle on a grand scale.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2024
Fat Bear Week has become a weeklong, bracket-style elimination contest that pits the bulkiest bears of Katmai National Park against one another.
From New York Times ● Oct. 6, 2022
Only the biggest, bulkiest planets are sizable enough to benefit from this effect.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 23, 2022
The bulkiest items catch your eye first - suitcases, jackets and an array of musical instruments.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2022
Smith asked Farrell Jones, who would be up for the workout, to wear his bulkiest leather jacket and use an extra-heavy saddle.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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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.
