BULK

bulk

(noun) the property possessed by a large mass

bulk, mass, volume

(noun) the property of something that is great in magnitude; ā€œit is cheaper to buy it in bulkā€; ā€œhe received a mass of correspondenceā€; ā€œthe volume of exportsā€

majority, bulk

(noun) the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part; ā€œthe majority of his customers prefer itā€; ā€œthe bulk of the work is finishedā€

bulge, bulk

(verb) cause to bulge or swell outwards

bulk

(verb) stick out or up; ā€œThe parcel bulked in the sackā€

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

bulk (countable and uncountable, plural bulks)

Size, specifically, volume.

Any huge body or structure.

The major part of something.

Dietary fibre.

(uncountable, transport) Unpackaged goods when transported in large volumes, e.g. coal, ore or grain.

(countable) a cargo or any items moved or communicated in the manner of cargo.

(bodybuilding) Excess body mass, especially muscle.

(bodybuilding) A period where one tries to gain muscle.

(brane cosmology) A hypothetical higher-dimensional space within which our own four-dimensional universe may exist.

(obsolete) The body.

Adjective

bulk (not comparable)

being large in size, mass or volume (of goods, etc.)

total

Verb

bulk (third-person singular simple present bulks, present participle bulking, simple past and past participle bulked)

(intransitive) To appear or seem to be, as to bulk or extent.

(intransitive) To grow in size; to swell or expand.

(intransitive) To gain body mass by means of diet, exercise, etc.

(transitive) To put or hold in bulk.

(transitive, obsolete) To add bulk to, to bulk out.

Source: Wiktionary


Bulk, n. Etym: [OE. bulke, bolke, heap; cf. Dan. bulk lump, clod, OSw. bolk crowd, mass, Icel. b to be bulky. Cf. Boll, n., Bile a boil, Bulge, n.]

1. Magnitude of material substance; dimensions; mass; size; as, an ox or ship of great bulk. Against these forces there were prepared near one hundred ships; not so great of bulk indeed, but of a more nimble motion, and more serviceable. Bacon.

2. The main mass or body; the largest or principal portion; the majority; as, the bulk of a debt. The bulk of the people must labor, Burke told them, "to obtain what by labor can be obtained." J. Morley.

3. (Naut.)

Definition: The cargo of a vessel when stowed.

4. The body. [Obs.] Shak. My liver leaped within my bulk. Turbervile. Barrel bulk. See under Barrel.

– To break bulk (Naut.), to begin to unload or more the cargo.

– In bulk, in a mass; loose; not inclosed in separate packages or divided into separate parts; in such shape that any desired quantity may be taken or sold.

– Laden in bulk, Stowed in bulk, having the cargo loose in the hold or not inclosed in boxes, bales, or casks.

– Sale by bulk, a sale of goods as they are, without weight or measure.

Syn.

– Size; magnitude; dimension; volume; bigness; largeness; massiveness.

Bulk, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bulked; p. pr. & vb. n. Bulking.]

Definition: To appear or seem to be, as to bulk or extent; to swell. The fame of Warburton possibly bulked larger for the moment. Leslie Stephen.

Bulk, n. Etym: [Icel. balkr a beam, partition. Cf. Balk, n. & v.]

Definition: A projecting part of a building. [Obs.] Here, stand behind this bulk. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 February 2025

ANALYSIS

(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., ā€˜the father of the brideā€™ instead of ā€˜the brideā€™s fatherā€™


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Coffee Trivia

There are four varieties of commercially viable coffee: Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa, and Robusta. Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.

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