Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense bulges, present participle bulging, past tense, past participle bulged
1. verb
If something such as a person's stomach bulges, it sticks out.
Jiro waddled closer, his belly bulging and distended. [VERB]
He bulges out of his black T-shirt. [VERB adverb/preposition]
He is 6ft 3ins with bulging muscles. [VERB-ing]
Synonyms: swell out, project, expand, swell More Synonyms of bulge
2. verb
If someone's eyes or veins are bulging, they seem to stick out a lot, often because the person is making a strong physical effort or is experiencing a strong emotion.
His eyes seemed to bulge like those of a toad. [VERB]
He shouted at his brother, his neck veins bulging. [VERB]
...bulging eyes. [VERB-ing]
Synonyms: stick out, project, stand out, protrude More Synonyms of bulge
3. verb [oft cont]
If you say that something is bulgingwith things, you are emphasizing that it is full of them.
[emphasis]
They returned home with the car bulging with boxes. [VERB + with]
...a bulging briefcase. [VERB-ing]
[Also VERB]
Synonyms: overflow, be full, be packed, be stuffed More Synonyms of bulge
4. countable noun
Bulges are lumps that stick out from a surface which is otherwise flat or smooth.
Why won't those bulges on your hips and thighs go?
Synonyms: lump, swelling, bump, projection More Synonyms of bulge
5. countable noun [usually singular]
If there is a bulgein something, there is a sudden large increase in it.
...a bulge in aircraft sales. [+ in]
...the huge bulge of payments due over the next two years.
[Also + of]
Synonyms: increase, rise, boost, surge More Synonyms of bulge
bulge in British English
(bʌldʒ)
noun
1.
a swelling or an outward curve
2.
a sudden increase in number or volume, esp of population
3. British another name for baby boom
4. British
the projecting part of an army's front line; salient
verb
5.
to swell outwards
Derived forms
bulging (ˈbulging)
adjective
bulgingly (ˈbulgingly)
adverb
bulgy (ˈbulgy)
adjective
bulginess (ˈbulginess)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Old French bouge, from Latin bulga bag, probably of Gaulish origin
Bulge in British English
(bʌldʒ)
noun
Battle of the Bulge
bulge in American English
(bʌldʒ)
noun
1.
an outward swelling; protuberance
2.
a projecting part, as a military salient
3. US, Informal
a sudden increase in size, value, etc.
4. US, Informal
advantage or margin of advantage
verb intransitive, verb transitiveWord forms: bulged or ˈbulging
5.
to swell or bend outward; protrude or project
SIMILAR WORDS: proˈjection
Word origin
ME < OFr bouge: see budge2
Examples of 'bulge' in a sentence
bulge
She points to'Junior' bulging in her belly.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Unite is a huge union with bulging coffers.
The Sun (2012)
Why not recruit from the bulging numbers of unemployed?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
When he looked at me his eyes were large and bulging.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The centre admitted he feared for his career after he was sidelined with a bulging disc.
The Sun (2011)
Would we arrest them if they returned with a bulging belly?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Is a move from the battle of the bulge brackets to the battle of the bulge imminent?
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
His eyes were bulging when he barged into me.
The Sun (2007)
Their world map above shows countries of dense population bulging.
The Sun (2011)
My onions are producing upright stems with a large bulge at the end.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Perhaps they spotted his bulging belly and decided to get trim.
The Sun (2014)
He was fighting the battle of the bulge from his early twenties and not always successfully.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Strangely, he only wanted to buy two bulging bags full of oranges.
The Sun (2010)
For instance, it is not true that training with weights leads to huge bulging muscles.
Lycholat, Tony Shape Your Body, Shape Your Life (1987)
As a result, the shops are bulging with designer numbers that have been reduced in price.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Moved to Brive as forwards consultant and had an operation to a bulging disc in his neck.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
IT might look like the vertical red lines bulge outwards in the middle but they actually do not.
The Sun (2016)
I would always leave with my stomach bulging, feeling slightly but pleasantly sick.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It's a tight stadium and their fans are screaming at you, the veins bulging on their necks.
The Sun (2013)
I love the long bonnet, in-your-face grille and bulging curves of the rear.
The Sun (2012)
In other languages
bulge
British English: bulge VERB
If something such as a person's stomach bulges, it sticks out.
He waddled closer, his belly bulging and distended.
American English: bulge
Brazilian Portuguese: inchar-se
Chinese: 鼓起
European Spanish: sobresalir
French: dépasser
German: sich wölben
Italian: essere rigonfio
Japanese: 突き出る
Korean: 불룩하다
European Portuguese: dilatar-se
Latin American Spanish: sobresalir
British English: bulge NOUN
Bulges are lumps that stick out from a surface which is otherwise flat or smooth.
Why won't those bulges on your hips and thighs go?
American English: bulge
Brazilian Portuguese: saliência
Chinese: 突起物
European Spanish: bulto
French: renflement
German: Wölbung
Italian: rigonfiamento
Japanese: 出っ張り
Korean: 불룩함
European Portuguese: saliência
Latin American Spanish: bulto
Chinese translation of 'bulge'
bulge
(bʌldʒ)
n(c)
(= bump) 凸起 (tūqǐ)
(in birth rate, sales) 激增 (jīzēng)
vi
[eyes, muscles, stomach etc]凸出 (tūchū)
to be bulging with塞满(滿) (sāimǎn)
1 (verb)
Definition
to swell outwards
He bulges out of his black T-shirt.
Synonyms
swell out
project
expand
Water expands as it freezes.
swell
The limbs swell to an enormous size.
stand out
stick out
protrude
puff out
distend
The large intestine distends and fills with gas.
bag
2 (verb)
Her eyes seemed to bulge like those of a toad.
Synonyms
stick out
Your label's sticking out.
project
A piece of metal projected out from the side.
stand out
Her hair stood out in spikes.
protrude
A huge round mass of rock protruded from the water.
3 (verb)
They returned home with the car bulging with boxes.
Synonyms
overflow
I was concerned that the soup might overflow onto the carpet.
be full
be packed
be stuffed
be crammed
burst at the seams
brim over
be full to bursting
be fit to burst
1 (noun)
Definition
a swelling or an outward curve on a normally flat surface
Why won't those bulges on your hips and thighs go?
Synonyms
lump
I've got a lump on my shoulder.
swelling
There is some swelling and he is being detained for observation.
bump
She got a large bump on her forehead.
projection
hump
The path goes over a large hump by a tree.
protuberance
a protuberance on the upper jawbone
protrusion
an ugly protrusion on the ankle where the bone had not set properly
Opposites
hole
,
bowl
,
depression
,
pit
,
cave
,
hollow
,
dent
,
crater
,
trough
,
cavity
,
ding (Australian, New Zealand, obsolete, informal)