Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

bulge en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈbʌldʒ/ (General-American)
  • (US) audio
  • /ˈbʌldʒ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ˈbʊldʒ/ (General-American)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European *bʰólǵʰ-o-s Proto-Celtic *bolgos Gaulish bolgābor. Latin bulgabor. Old Northern French boulgebor. Middle English bulge English bulge From Middle English bulge (“leather bag; hump”), from Old Northern French boulge (“leather bag”), from Late Latin bulga (“leather sack”), from Gaulish *bulga, *bulgos, from Proto-Celtic *bolgos (“sack, bag, stomach”). Cognate with bilge, belly, bellows, budget, French bouge, German Balg, etc. Doublet of budge, and from the same root as belly and bellows. See also budget.

Meanings

  1. An object which is sticking out from a surface; a swelling, protuberant part; a bending outward, especially when caused by pressure.
    • Haz sits in the trailer for 10 hours straight, eyes trained on the patrons. If he sees the makings of a drug deal or a fight, he notifies the club’s in-house security by walkie-talkie. It amazes him how indiscreet drug dealers can be—with the bulges in their socks and their melodramatic handovers—despite the presence of security guards. 2018 February, Robert Draper, “They are Watching You—and Everything Else on the Planet: Technology and Our Increasing Demand for Security have Put Us All under Surveillance. Is Privacy Becoming just a Memory?”, in National Geographic, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2018:
    • The collapse happened within three weeks of an examining engineer observing that a bulge in the brickwork had increased since a previous inspection. 2024 February 21, “Network News: Safety changes recommended after train hits collapsed wall”, in RAIL, number 1003, page 19:
    • a bulge in a wall
    • There was a bulge in my pocket where I kept my wallet.
  2. The bilge or protuberant part of a cask.
  3. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK) A rounded fleshy mass, such as on a camel or zebu.
  4. The bilge of a vessel.
  5. (colloquial) The outline of a (usually erect) penis visible through one's clothing.
    • As his bulge begins to swell once again, her hand strokes the length of it through his pants. 2012, D.H.Clark/I.B.Long, A Grasp for Life: The continuing story of Howard Walker, →ISBN, page 75:
    • I'm wearing the same tight panties here as in the video clip above, with girldick nonerect, out to the front and pointing up, which is the position I prefer her to be. This absurdly tight skirt clearly shows too much bulge (along with hip bones, tummy, specks of dust etc). Personally I think bulges are super cute and I'm pissed off that I have to hide mine, but society feels otherwise so let’s try to offset it. (I mean, IRL I still won’t wear this skirt ever ofc 😇, but for science.) 2020 November 11, “What’s it like to be a post-orchiectomy non-op trans woman”, in elilla & friends’ very occasional blog thing, archived from the original on 03 Sep 2023:
    • He walked right up to me, the knife poking him in the abdomen, just above his bulge. 2017, Dee Dawning, Extramarital, →ISBN:
    • Max looked down and sure as crap, his bulge was huge, and he started to stammer and stutter and without hesitation said, Holy crap Sandy, look at what you do to me. 2010, Micky Livingston, Seventeen Inches, →ISBN:
  6. (figuratively) A sudden rise in value or quantity.
    • A second bulge in prices occurred during September 30 — October 9. The rise of prices up to October 3 was in part apparently a technical adjustment of the markets, a reaction to the preceding decline. 1930, Stanford University, Wheat Studies of the Food Research Institute, volume 7, page 204:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
bulges Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

battle of the bulge · backbulge · bulger · bulgy · bulgeless · curb bulge · bulge bracket · outbulge · tentabulge · girlbulge · protobulge · pseudobulge · bulge in the onion bag · forebulge · galactic bulge · cockbulge · youth bulge · bulgelike · get the bulge on · manbulge

Synonyms

trouser tent · manbulge · cockbulge · crotchbulge · dick print · hump · bulge · mooseknuckle · girlbulge · basket · swell · pocket rocket · lunchbox · crotch tent · tent · package · junk · packet

Translations (62)

gl protuberancia (something sticking out) · fr bombement (something sticking out) · cs výstupek (something sticking out) · sv bula (something sticking out) · it rigonfiamento (something sticking out) · bg изпъкналост (something sticking out) · sv knöl (something sticking out) · sv bälg (something sticking out) · eo malglataĵo (something sticking out) · ja 出っ張り (something sticking out) · fi kohouma (something sticking out) · es abultamiento (something sticking out) · pt protuberância (something sticking out) · pt saliência (something sticking out) · de Beule (something sticking out) · ko 혹 (something sticking out) · ru вы́ступ (something sticking out) · ca protuberància (something sticking out) · it protuberanza (something sticking out) · de Ausbuchtung (something sticking out) · pt bojo (something sticking out) · az çıxıntı (something sticking out) · ca bony (something sticking out) · ro umflătură (something sticking out) · hu kitüremkedés (something sticking out) · sq gufim (something sticking out) · gl nórnega (something sticking out) · cs boule (something sticking out) · gl balume (something sticking out) · ru вы́пуклость (something sticking out) · ota تومسك (something sticking out) · gl noiro (something sticking out) · nl bult (something sticking out) · hu dudor (something sticking out) · it sporgenza (something sticking out) · az qabarlıq (something sticking out) · az qabarıq (something sticking out) · bg издатина (something sticking out) · ko 부루퉁이 (something sticking out) · ru буго́р (something sticking out) · cs výčnělek (something sticking out) · fr bosse (something sticking out) · gl bocho (something sticking out) · de Delle (something sticking out) · sv utbuktning (something sticking out) · ro protuberanță (something sticking out) · es protuberancia (something sticking out) · gl pote (something sticking out) · fi pullistuma (something sticking out) · de Wölbung (something sticking out) · es bulto (something sticking out) · gl rombo (something sticking out) · fr protubérance (something sticking out) · gl cotobelo (something sticking out) · cmn 鼓包 (something sticking out) · pl wypukłość (something sticking out) · tr tümsek (something sticking out) · gl cromello (something sticking out) · ko 뾰루지 (something sticking out) · cmn 隆起 (something sticking out) · gl gurupela (something sticking out) · la protuberantia (something sticking out)

bulge en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • /ˈbʌldʒ/ (General-American)
  • (US) audio
  • /ˈbʌldʒ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ˈbʊldʒ/ (General-American)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European *bʰólǵʰ-o-s Proto-Celtic *bolgos Gaulish bolgābor. Latin bulgabor. Old Northern French boulgebor. Middle English bulge English bulge From Middle English bulge (“leather bag; hump”), from Old Northern French boulge (“leather bag”), from Late Latin bulga (“leather sack”), from Gaulish *bulga, *bulgos, from Proto-Celtic *bolgos (“sack, bag, stomach”). Cognate with bilge, belly, bellows, budget, French bouge, German Balg, etc. Doublet of budge, and from the same root as belly and bellows. See also budget.

Meanings

  1. (intransitive) To stick out from a surface without breaking it.
    • The wind actually stirred the cloth on the chest of drawers, and let in a little light, so that the sharp edge of the chest of drawers was visible, running straight up, until a white shape bulged out; and a silver streak showed in the looking-glass. 1922, Virginia Woolf, chapter 1, in Jacob's Room:
    • He stood six feet tall, with muscular arms bulging out of his black T-shirt.
  2. (intransitive) (of a container, etc.) To have the surface stretched by something pushing out; to swell; to belly.
    • The submarine bulged because of the enormous air pressure inside.
    • You will return from work one day to an empty, echoing apartment, and the neighbors will tell you that B was last seen driving away in a bulging moving van. 1977 December 10, Robin E. Smith, “Lesbian Version of 'Breaking Up Is Hard To Do'”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 23, page 12:
  3. (intransitive) To bilge, as a ship; to founder.
    • Fatal to Man! at once all Ocean roars, And scattered navies bulge on distant shores. 1739, William Broome, “The Battle of the Gods and Titans”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: Henry Lintot, page 253:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
bulged Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
bulged Tense=Past lexicographic
bulges Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
bulging Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic

Deriveds

outbulge · abulge · bulge the onion bag · bulgingly · upbulging

Translations (31)

de hervortreten (to stick out from) · cmn 凸出 (to stick out from) · ru оттопы́риваться (to stick out from) · mi riaki (to stick out from) · ru выпира́ть (to stick out from) · bg издувам се (to stick out from) · es abultar (to stick out from) · ca sobresortir (to stick out from) · fi pullistella (to stick out from) · ru выпя́чиваться (to stick out from) · ja 突き出る (to stick out from) · ja 膨れる (to stick out from) · he בליטה (to stick out from) · hu kidudorodik (to stick out from) · cmn 突出 (to stick out from) · ko 불거지다 (to stick out from) · tyz be (to stick out from) · fi pullistua (to stick out from) · hu kitüremkedik (to stick out from) · pt protuberar (to stick out from) · fr déformer (to stick out from) · it sporgere (to stick out from) · ru выдава́ться (to stick out from) · fr bomber (to stick out from) · mi whererei (to stick out from) · fi pullottaa (to stick out from) · ko 부르다 (to stick out from) · bg изпъквам (to stick out from) · sq gufohem (to stick out from) · de hervorstechen (to stick out from) · la prominere (to stick out from)