bulk
BUHLK
/bʌlk/
Large in quantity or size; buying in large amounts.
In retail, 'in bulk' refers to buying large quantities at once, often to save money.
The story behind the word. The word comes from the Old Norse 'bulki', which referred to a ship's cargo or a heap. It originally described the entire contents of a ship's hold before it was divided up for sale.
Word relationships
- mass: Refers to a large body of matter with no definite shape.
- volume: Refers to the amount of space something occupies.
- retail: Selling in small quantities directly to consumers.
- individual: Single items rather than a large group.
Commonly confused with
- wholesale: 'Bulk' refers to the quantity, while 'wholesale' refers to the business model of selling to other businesses.
Word family
- bulky (adjective): Taking up much space; large and unwieldy.
- bulkiness (noun): The quality of being bulky.
Collocations
- buy in bulk
- bulk buy
- the bulk of
Idioms & expressions
- in bulk (in large quantities)
Example sentences
- "Buying flour in bulk is much cheaper than buying small individual bags." Consumer Habits
- "The sheer bulk of the shipment made it difficult to move without a forklift." Physical Description
Memory hook
Bulk sounds like 'hulk'—something big and massive. Bulk: Big, Unpackaged, Lots, Keep-saving.
When not to use
Don't use 'bulk' when you mean 'heavy' unless the weight comes from the sheer volume.
Fun facts
- The first 'bulk' stores appeared in the 1970s as a way for consumers to reduce packaging waste.
- In physics, the 'bulk modulus' measures how resistant a substance is to compression.
Also appears in
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