bulk up

bulk  (blk)

n.

1. Size, mass, or volume, especially when very large.

2.

a. A distinct mass or portion of matter, especially a large one: the dark bulk of buildings against the sky.

b. The body of a human, especially when large or muscular.

3. The major portion or greater part: "The great bulk of necessary work can never be anything but painful" (Bertrand Russell).

4. See fiber.

5. Thickness of paper or cardboard in relation to weight.

6. A ship's cargo.

v. bulked, bulk·ing, bulks

v.intr.

1. To be or appear to be massive in terms of size, volume, or importance; loom: Safety considerations bulked large during development of the new spacecraft.

2. To grow or increase in size or importance.

3. To cohere or form a mass: Certain paper bulks well.

v.tr.

1. To cause to swell or expand.

2. To cause to cohere or form a mass.

adj.

Being large in mass, quantity, or volume: a bulk buy; a bulk mailing.

Phrasal Verb:

bulk up

To gain weight by gaining muscle: dietary supplements that helped the weightlifters bulk up.

Idiom:

in bulk

1. Unpackaged; loose.

2. In large numbers, amounts, or volume.

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[Middle English, perhaps partly alteration of bouk, belly, trunk of the body (from Old English bc) and partly from Old Norse bulki, cargo, heap; see bhel-² in Indo-European roots.]

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bulk up

vb

(adverb) to increase or cause to increase in size or importance