bulky
adj/ˈbʌlki/
Etymology From Middle English bulki, boulky, equivalent to bulk + -y.
1
Being large in size, mass, or volume; big, fat or muscular.
- Action such as this, filmed under great difficulty with a bulky, hand-cranked camera, revealed the possibilities of the movies and was quite startling in those early days.1958 February 23, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 87:
- Needless to say, one's seat must be booked in advance and a platoon of urbane officials, one to each door of the train, awaits passengers to usher them to their seats and relieve them of their bulkier baggage.1960 March, G. Freeman Allen, “Europe's most luxurious express - the "Settebello"”, in Trains Illustrated, page 140:
1 more example
- The captain did a safety drill. This covered where the emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was located, how to make a mayday call, and where the fire extinguishers were. A crew member demonstrated how to put on an immersion suit. These survival suits are waterproof full-body garments with a hood and integral three-finger gloves and boots. They are bulky and hard to get on but far more likely to save your life in cold water than a lifejacket.2025 October 21, Rose George, “‘I knew in my head we were dying’: the last voyage of the Scandies Rose”, in The Guardian:
2
Unwieldy.
3
Bodybuilding, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports Having excess body mass, especially muscle.
- Derived terms
- bulkily, bulkiness, bulky refuse, bulky waste, nonbulky, overbulky, superbulky, unbulky