- Bulk
- Bulk Bulk (b[u^]lk), n. [OE. bulke, bolke, heap; cf. Dan. bulk
lump, clod, OSw. bolk crowd, mass, Icel. b?lkast to be bulky.
Cf. {Boll}, n., {Bile} a boil, {Bulge}, n.]
1. Magnitude of material substance; dimensions; mass; size;
as, an ox or ship of great bulk.
[1913 Webster]
Against these forces there were prepared near one hundred ships; not so great of bulk indeed, but of a more nimble motion, and more serviceable. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
2. The main mass or body; the largest or principal portion; the majority; as, the bulk of a debt. [1913 Webster]
The bulk of the people must labor, Burke told them, ``to obtain what by labor can be obtained.'' --J. Morley. [1913 Webster]
3. (Naut.) The cargo of a vessel when stowed. [1913 Webster]
4. The body. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]
My liver leaped within my bulk. --Turbervile. [1913 Webster]
{Barrel bulk}. See under {Barrel}.
{To break bulk} (Naut.), to begin to unload or more the cargo.
{In bulk}, in a mass; loose; not inclosed in separate packages or divided into separate parts; in such shape that any desired quantity may be taken or sold.
{Laden in bulk}, {Stowed in bulk}, having the cargo loose in the hold or not inclosed in boxes, bales, or casks.
{Sale by bulk}, a sale of goods as they are, without weight or measure. [1913 Webster]
Syn: Size; magnitude; dimension; volume; bigness; largeness; massiveness. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
