bulk
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
The major part of something.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
buhlkIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbʌlk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The major part of something.
Any huge body or structure.
Size, specifically, volume.
Majority, balance.
countable
A cargo or any items moved or communicated in the manner of cargo.
Dietary fibre.
adjective
Being large in size, mass, or volume (of goods, etc.).
verb
intransitive
To grow in size; to swell or expand.
intransitive
To gain body mass by means of diet, exercise, etc.
intransitive
To appear or seem to be, as to bulk or extent.
transitive
To put or hold in bulk.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The major part of something.
Used this way, bulk is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use bulk
- “It is cheaper to buy it in bulk.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing.
Mail consisting of large numbers of identical items (circulars or advertisements) sent to individual addresses at less than 1st-class rates and paid for in one lot.
The ratio of the change in pressure acting on a volume to the fractional change in volume.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: being large in size or mass
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.