Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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.
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.
2. The main mass or body; the largest or principal portion;
the majority; as, the bulk of a debt.
The bulk of the people must labor, Burke told them,
``to obtain what by labor can be obtained.'' --J.
Morley.
3. (Naut.) The cargo of a vessel when stowed.
4. The body. [Obs.] --Shak.
My liver leaped within my bulk. --Turbervile.
{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.
Syn: Size; magnitude; dimension; volume; bigness; largeness;
massiveness.
Bulk \Bulk\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Bulked}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Bulking}.]
To appear or seem to be, as to bulk or extent; to swell.
The fame of Warburton possibly bulked larger for the
moment. --Leslie
Stephen.
Bulk \Bulk\, n. [Icel. b[=a]lkr a beam, partition. Cf. {Balk},
n. & v.]
A projecting part of a building. [Obs.]
Here, stand behind this bulk. --Shak.
Source : WordNet®
bulk
n 1: the property resulting from being or relating to the greater
in number of two parts; the main part; "the majority of
his customers prefer it"; "the bulk of the work is
finished" [syn: {majority}] [ant: {minority}]
2: the property of something that is great in magnitude; "it is
cheaper to buy it in bulk"; "he received a mass of
correspondence"; "the volume of exports" [syn: {mass}, {volume}]
3: the property possessed by a large mass
v 1: stick out or up; "The parcel bulked in the sack"
2: cause to bulge or swell outwards [syn: {bulge}]