bulk

Imagine a giant bag of flour at the grocery store—that’s often sold in bulk. It describes items available in large quantities, usually without individual packaging. You might buy nuts in bulk to save money, or describe a strong athlete as having substantial bulk, meaning they are powerfully built. Sometimes it points to the overall mass of a thing, like the massive bulk of a cargo ship. A heavy winter coat can add bulk to your silhouette, and the bulk of your day—the majority of it—is often spent working.

The word bulk has a few related meanings, all centered on size and amount. Most commonly, it refers to lots of goods sold together, often without individual wrapping. Think of grains, nuts, or office supplies delivered in bulk: businesses use this for cost efficiency because larger quantities can lower the price per unit. For example: "We saved money by ordering printer paper in bulk."

But bulk is also the word for physical mass. A large oak tree has considerable bulk, and you might describe a stocky athlete as a person of great bulk to emphasize their broad, powerful build.

The phrase the bulk of is figurative and means the main part or majority of something. For example: "The bulk of his income comes from investments." Here, it means most of the income comes from investments, not from salary.

You can also hear bulk used for the main body of a group, as in "the bulk of the audience." This everyday phrasing reinforces the same idea: the word usually marks something big, substantial, or most of the whole.