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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

bulk

/bʌlk/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:55
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What does bulk mean?

noun

  1. Size, specifically, volume.
  2. Any huge body or structure.
  3. The major part of something.
More meanings (16)

noun

  1. Majority, balance.
  2. Gist.
  3. Dietary fibre.
  4. Unpackaged goods when transported in large volumes, e.g. coal, ore, or grain.
  5. A cargo or any items moved or communicated in the manner of cargo.
  6. Excess body mass, especially muscle.
  7. A period where one tries to gain muscle.
  8. A hypothetical higher-dimensional space within which our own four-dimensional universe may exist.
  9. (obsolete) The body.

adjective

  1. Being large in size, mass, or volume (of goods, etc.).
  2. Total.

verb

  1. To appear or seem to be, as to bulk or extent.
  2. To grow in size; to swell or expand.
  3. To gain body mass by means of diet, exercise, etc.
  4. To put or hold in bulk.
  5. (obsolete) To add bulk to; to bulk out.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/bʌlk/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Agriculture, including forestry, accounts for about 25% of GNP, employs about 45% of the labor force, and provides the bulk of exports.
United States. Central Intelligence AgencyThe 1990 CIA World FactbookProject Gutenberg ebook #14
The swifter craft are seldom equipped with large buoyancy tanks, since the added bulk of them tends to reduce a vessel’s speed.
Edgar Rice BurroughsThe gods of MarsProject Gutenberg ebook #64
More book examples (3)
It transported its great, lumbering bulk with more than railroad speed, and set itself phlegmatically down on whatever spot she glanced at.
Nathaniel HawthorneThe House of the Seven GablesProject Gutenberg ebook #77
When the total quantity of the nitrated solution added amounts to about half the bulk of the ferro-tartaric acid, it is enough.
Henry Hunt SnellingThe History and Practice of the Art of PhotographyProject Gutenberg ebook #168
The government buildings and some of the business blocks on the main streets are well built and imposing in bulk and architecture.
John MuirSteep TrailsProject Gutenberg ebook #326