bulk

bulk n Bulk, mass, volume mean a body of usually material substance that constitutes a thing or unit.

Bulk is applied mainly to what is or appears to be inordinately large or heavy

{

the bulk of ancient minster— Wordsworth

}

and often more or less shapeless or unshapely

{

on the living sea rolls an inanimate bulk— Shelley

}

{

a blue night set with stars, the bulk of the solitary mesas cutting into the firmament— Cather

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{

Dr. Lanskell sank his gouty bulk into the armchair behind his desk— Wharton

}

Mass is applied mainly to something, whether material or immaterial, that is or gives the appearance of being built up by the piling or gathering together of things of the same kind so that they cohere and have a real or apparent unity

{

the towering mass of the Sierras

}

{

pieces of obsolete science, imprisoned ... in the solid mass of a religious creed— Inge

}

{

the mass [of people] never comes up to the standard of its best member, but on the contrary degrades itself to a level with the lowest— Thoreau

}

Volume usually applies to something that flows and is therefore without outline and often continuous in extent

{

a tremendous volume of water

}

{

a volume of gas poured into the room

}

{

it [the voice] rose through progressive gradations of sweetness and power, until its volume seemed to envelop her— Hawthorne

}

These three terms also come into comparison when they designate quantity or amount. But bulk and mass mean the greater part or a large majority of something objective

{

some must know medicine, but for the bulk of mankind it is sufficient to have an elementary knowledge of physiology and hygiene— Russell

}

{

the great mass of the articles on which impost is paid is foreign luxuries— Jefferson

}

Volume, however, may denote either the total amount or quantity especially of something subject to seasonal, periodic, or other fluctuations

{

the volume of travel increases greatly in the vacation season

}

{

enlarge the volume of the currency

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{

the volume of business has decreased recently

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or a considerable or relatively great amount

{

profits are made by selling volume at market price— Wall Street Jour.

}

{

crops will fail unless we soon get rain in volume

}

Analogous words: *form, figure, shape