bulge

verb

/bʌldʒ/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they bulge	/bʌldʒ/ /bʌldʒ/
he / she / it bulges	/ˈbʌldʒɪz/ /ˈbʌldʒɪz/
past simple bulged	/bʌldʒd/ /bʌldʒd/
past participle bulged	/bʌldʒd/ /bʌldʒd/
-ing form bulging	/ˈbʌldʒɪŋ/ /ˈbʌldʒɪŋ/

Idioms

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[intransitive] bulge (with something) (usually used in the progressive tenses) to be completely full (of something)
- Her pockets were bulging with presents.
- a bulging briefcase
[intransitive] to stick out from something in a round shape
- His eyes bulged.
- South of Benghazi the coastline bulges out then in.

Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French boulge, from Latin bulga ‘leather bag, knapsack’, of Gaulish origin. The original meaning was ‘wallet or bag’, later ‘a ship's bilge’ (early 17th cent.); other senses presumably derived from association with the shape of a full bag.

Idioms

be bursting/bulging at the seams

(informal) to be very full, especially of people
- Los Angeles is bursting at the seams with would-be actors.
- The film is bursting at the seams with good performances.

bulge

noun

/bʌldʒ/

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a round or curved shape that sticks out from something
- the bulge of a gun in his pocket
(informal) fat on the body that sticks out in a round shape
- That skirt's too tight. It shows all your bulges.
a sudden temporary increase in the amount of something
- After the war there was a bulge in the birth rate.