1The mass or magnitude of something large.

1. 1.1 A large mass or shape, for example of a building or a heavy body.
   he moved quickly in spite of his bulk

   Example sentencesExamples

   • A study in strength when he was playing, Matthews has added bulk to almost every Lion and it has worked.
   • Hines is exactly what is needed: his sheer bulk makes him difficult to stop and his handling ability ensures that he invariably plays the ball out of contact.
   • Tracking big game in the heat of the southern African bush is a far cry from the cold, grey bulk of Yorkshire's oldest stone fortress.
   • Another factor is a lack of bulk on the defensive line.
   • The Sierra based Lightning Rods are incredibly quick around Bovingdon, where the cars' sheer bulk and power leads to a tight pack of bumper-to-bumper racing throughout the day.
   • The Sunday papers having reached sufficient size to extend several days either side of their publication date by sheer bulk, I resolved to buy one.
   • The extra bulk has reduced his speed, but so what?
   • In the first place, his presence is considerable, not just his physical bulk but the sheer sense of purpose he brings to any gathering.
   • Badly in need of linebacker help and some bulk on the defensive line, the Packers drafted speedy linebacker Nick Barnett and defensive tackle Kenny Peterson.
   • Today the winners of body building competitions sometimes say they achieved their body bulk without drugs.
   • Similarly, the sombre grey bulk of St Catherine's Church and its plaque may recall the patriot's death to some in the bustling street of stallholders and art students.
   • At the appropriate moment Dad came around behind me and in a movement surprisingly graceful for his age and bulk, he bent down and netted the fish, tail first.
   • Hoss ran through the figure again, his bulk easily balanced on the balls of his feet, his movements light and sure.
   • Its relative size and bulk compared to your average mobile phone means you aren't going to slip it in a pocket and forget about it.
   • Michael has been plagued with weight problems since his schooldays and though he tried conventional dieting on many occasions, it failed to reduce his bulk.
   • However, in spite of its undoubted bulk, the Grand Voyager is not difficult to drive and equipment levels are high.
   • Even to us novices watching from a safe distance, the outcome came as no surprise given the sheer bulk and presence of our boy.
   • Arriving at the dockside, you are reminded of the sheer bulk of the ship.
   • From an early age he was fat, perhaps seeking in food both the bulk to defend himself and the comfort he could not find at home.
   • What about Embassy Court Brighton, a building whose horizontal emphasis and overweening bulk wrecks the stuccoed urbanity of the Hove seafront?
2. 1.2as modifier Large in quantity or amount.
   bulk orders of more than 100 copies

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Nurses' dresses typically cost under £10 as part of a bulk order for the NHS.
   • It allows for inexpensive production and bulk transfers of huge quantities of meat, grain, and other agricultural products.
   • I'm using a debit card now to order bulk supplies of allergy medicines through my health insurance company.
   • Anything that can break down the bulk adoption of textbooks by states would certainly help.
   • In recent years the company's emphasis has been on exporting bulk quantities of its Muller Thurgau-based White Cloud.
   • The plant provides a wide range of products although its output is dominated by the bulk production of soda ash and smaller quantities of soda bicarbonate.
   • What now seems to be in fashion in Bulgaria is the bulk registration of sensible names to be put on bid afterwards and sold for much higher fees.
   • Or should I have just held out and placed a bulk order online for the P500s?
   • Companies can order bulk quantities of a print after the presale expires.
   • Avolar capped its official launch with a bulk order for Learjets and Beechjets.
   • Food outlets and other shops in the town have also noticed an increase in business during the 12th summer festival, and Booths Supermarket has received large bulk orders.
   • Their differences are resolved when Bell agrees only to sell his eggs in large bulk orders that Windy could never fulfil.
   • The charity single went on sale yesterday but unlike in London where there were early morning queues and bulk orders at record stores, shoppers in Swindon were a lot more subdued.
   • The group has reserved a bulk order with the Post Office, planned to enable it to blitz Britain with a huge leafleting campaign over the holidays.
   • We felt it was important to get a new award for Michael, and we just added it to the bulk order for the others.
   • Critics argue the order prevents retailers passing on to customers discounts they receive on bulk orders.
   • Occasionally, wrongdoings are revealed: last March, it disallowed ‘a large quantity’ of Guardian-Observer bulk sales.
   • So he hired a manager to run the shop and went out to secure bulk orders from local hotels and hospitals.
   • Special discount is provided for libraries, research institutions and also for bulk orders.
   • For example, you could request datasheets or a sample batch of components for testing before you commit to a bulk order.
3. 1.3the bulk The majority or greater part of something.
   the bulk of the traffic had passed

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Well, it is nearly impossible for the private sector to not to be the cause of a recession, as the private sector represents the bulk of the economy.
   • Pre-existing roads and trails are intended to absorb the bulk of tundra vehicle traffic, yet many of the vehicles venture away from these areas.
   • The latter two played second base for the bulk of their careers, and Yount played about half of his games in the outfield.
   • The bulk of the book deals with the development of the U.S. Naval pension fund, which is fascinating in part because it seems so unusual to the modern student of pensions.
   • Rents and taxes from the offshore sector make up the bulk of the income of the State.
   • The Home Office will provide half the funding and the bulk of the remaining half will be met by Kent Police Authority, with district and parish councils supplementing the rest.
   • While each of these has a field of application the overwhelming bulk of metal is shaped from the simple cast ingot by a series of deformation processes.
   • Much hope for the future of the town rests on the effectiveness of that new road in taking the bulk of the traffic away from Main Street.
   • In metazoans, the bulk of the cohesin complex is displaced at prophase, but a subset of cohesin complexes is maintained at the centromere and perhaps other sites.
   • They did keep the bulk of their forces outside the city, as they were asked to do.
   • An efficient metro rail system will not only push the bulk of traffic underground, but also ensure that people use their vehicles sparingly.
   • He completed the bulk of his work between 1844 and 1883, a period of democratic nationalism, trade unionism and revolution.
   • But he had hoped at this stage of the summer to have had the bulk of his business completed and his squad almost at full strength.
   • The rented homes sector is where the bulk of Park Lane's growth has come from in the last few years.
   • There is only one way to ensure that base load and the bulk of our electricity comes from a reliable source that does not damage the atmosphere - nuclear power.
   • After being so quiet in the final third for the bulk of the first half, while Jamie Speare was kept the busier of the two goalkeepers, there was a marked improvement in the Stanley players' body language.
   • Articles about the process of storytelling make up the bulk of the central portion of this volume.
   • The payout was 23% up on what the directors received in 2003, with the five top executives sharing the bulk of the increases.
   • Central Office confirmed last night that he would name the bulk of his front bench team, including the entire Shadow Cabinet, later today.
   • The bulk of the book is spread over chapters seven to 11, which take almost 100 pages to describe medical privacy laws and issues in 51 countries.

   Synonyms

   majority, greater number, greater quantity, larger number, larger part, best part, better part, main part, major part
4. 1.4 Roughage in food.
   bread and potatoes supply energy, essential protein, and bulk

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Stevia, on the other hand, is used in such tiny amounts that it doesn't provide any bulk or volume to foods.
   • By providing the necessary bulk material your body needs, it helps to ensure proper digestive functioning and gives you the full feeling of having had enough to eat.
   • Dietary fiber - also known as roughage or bulk - includes all parts of plant foods that your body can't digest or absorb.
   • Insoluble fiber provides bulk or roughage to your diet, but you don't digest it.

   Synonyms

   roughage, fibrous material
5. 1.5 Cargo that is an unpackaged mass such as grain, oil, or milk.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Also explore bulk bins for organic grains, cereals, flour, dried fruit, legumes, rice and granola.
   • In 1974 there were 9 ships handling bulk cargo, including grain, iron ore, limestone, salt, sand and coal.
   • Inefficient handling of bagged wheat gave way to bulk handling, and the marketing of wheat became more organised through the formation of the Australian Wheat Board in 1939.
   • Under normal circumstances, the shipment would have been carried by the Yarra, which was contracted to move bulk cargo around the Australian coast.
   • How do I know that the bulk dried herbs I buy in a store still have all their medicinal benefits?
   • To boost profits, it switched some carriers from dry bulk cargoes to coal, and raised freight rates for coal along the coastal region.
   • It has built new, specialised quays for handling cement, timber and scrap metal, and several warehouses for bulk fertilisers and other dry cargoes.
   • The roundhouse at San Lázaro was vacated, and afterwards used for bulk grain storage.
   • In addition, there is now a new differential between the wages of drivers in the huge container cranes and those operating cranes used to load and unload bulk cargo.
   • Other members of the Asian Shipowners' Forum support Wei's bullish view and believe booms in the dry bulk, tanker and container markets will continue for the rest of this year.
   • Until last year, the port's wharfs were only intended to accommodate bulk cargo which was not transported in containers.
   • In other countries, notably the United States, trucks now dominate long-haul transport of all but bulk commodity goods such as coal or wheat.
   • Hazardous cargoes will be identified mainly through existing conventions and codes and will cover bulk and packaged cargoes, liquids, solids and gases.
   • A Federal Government change to the Tasmanian Wheat Freight Subsidy Scheme looks set to end bulk shipments of grain to that state from July 1.
   • Revenue from dry bulk cargo operation rose 21 per cent to 166 million yuan.
   • Georgia is also expanding the dry bulk cargo handling facilities of its Black Sea ports.
   • The skull and cross bones may have been replaced by organised gangs looking for bulk cargos; but some old clichés persist.
   • Most freight tends to be large bulk cargo which is moved out of hours, but the major impact has been on tourism and retail.
   • The next points of interest are mounds of bulk cargo shrouded in heavy white polythene sheets.
   • Talliun is in fact a group of four harbours, of which Muuga, the youngest, is intended to serve as the main bulk cargo handling centre.

1no object Be or seem to be of great size or importance.

2with object Treat (a product) so that its quantity appears greater than it in fact is.

1. 2.1bulk upno object Build up body mass, typically in training for athletic events.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • There could also be bigger deals as second-tier players look to bulk up and muscle into new markets.
   • Diets are a major culprit, and although it's much less common for someone bulking up to get dehydrated, water is still the easiest, cheapest and most effective single nutrient you can add to any eating plan.
   • Athletes use them as shortcuts to bulk up, build endurance and recover better from training.
   • Those may be appropriate for hardgainers, powerlifters or trainers who want to bulk up in the offseason and need insulin and calories to do so.
   • These are excellent foods for bulking up and adding muscle mass, but they can add some body fat if overconsumed.
   • He later went on to star at the University of Minnesota where he would take his training to a new level and bulk up to his current proportions.
   • Eggs serve as a good source of protein for bodybuilders interested in bulking up.
   • Then clear up the misunderstanding explaining why it is unlikely that most women would bulk up or develop large muscles like some men who train with weights.
   • To help Smith bulk up with lean muscle mass while he trained, Ellis developed an aggressive feeding schedule.
   • Whether bulking up, maintaining weight or trying to shed body fat, consume at least 1 g of protein per pound of bodyweight every day.