Library / English Dictionary

BULK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The property possessed by a large mass

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("bulk" is a kind of...):

mass (the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field)

Derivation:

bulky (of large size for its weight)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The property of something that is great in magnitude

Example:

the volume of exports

Synonyms:

bulk; mass; volume

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("bulk" is a kind of...):

magnitude (the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bulk"):

dollar volume; turnover (the volume measured in dollars)

Derivation:

bulky (of large size for its weight)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part

Example:

the bulk of the work is finished

Synonyms:

bulk; majority

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("bulk" is a kind of...):

figure; number (the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals)

Attribute:

major (greater in number or size or amount)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to bulge or swell outwards

Synonyms:

bulge; bulk

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "bulk" is one way to...):

swell (cause to become swollen)

Cause:

bulge; pouch; protrude (swell or protrude outwards)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Stick out or up

Example:

The parcel bulked in the sack

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "bulk" is one way to...):

bulge; pouch; protrude (swell or protrude outwards)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Credits

 Context examples: 

A solid composed of active ingredient(s), excipients (usually electrolytes and bulking agents), and a solvent system which are lyophilized to yield a compressed solid with uniform ingredient distribution.

(Cake Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

Triton is slightly larger than Pluto, has a very similar internal density and bulk composition, and has the same low-temperature volatiles frozen on its surface.

(Voyager Map Details Neptune's Strange Moon Triton, NASA)

Over hundreds of millions of years, bright material has mixed with the dark material that forms the bulk of Ceres' surface, as well as debris ejected during impacts.

(Bright Areas on Ceres Suggest Geologic Activity, NASA)

One explanation is that the disk dissipated before the planet could bulk up further.

(Atmosphere of Midsize Planet Revealed by Hubble, Spitzer, NASA)

Most drugs are made to target "bulk" cancer cells, but not the root cause: the cancer stem cell.

(‘Energetic Cancer Cells’ May Be Origin of Cancer Spread, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A cell that composes the bulk of the islets of Langerhans and secretes insulin.

(Beta Cell, NCI Thesaurus)

A marketing category for bulk ingredients intended for individual compounding for veterinary patients, regardless of the existence of a prescription.

(Bulk Ingredient for Animal Drug Compounding, NCI Thesaurus)

A substance, such as fiber in food, that adds bulk and water to stools so that they can pass more easily through the intestines (lower part of the digestive tract).

(Bulk-forming agent, NCI Dictionary)

A category specifying that a bulk product is intended for use on humans and requires a prescription.

(Bulk Ingredient for Human Prescription Compounding, NCI Thesaurus)

A category specifying that a bulk product is intended for use on animals and requires a prescription.

(Bulk Ingredient for Animal Prescription Compounding, NCI Thesaurus)