Adjacent Words

Bulge definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BULGE, n. A different orthography of bilge. The bilge or protuberant part of a cask; protuberance.
BULGE, v.i. To swell out; to be protuberant.
1. To bilge as a ship. [See Bilge.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: something that bulges out or is protuberant or projects from its surroundings; "the gun in his pocket made an obvious bulge"; "the hump of a camel"; "he stood on the rocky prominence"; "the occipital protuberance was well developed"; "the bony excrescence between its horns" [syn: bulge, bump, hump, swelling, gibbosity, gibbousness, jut, prominence, protuberance, protrusion, extrusion, excrescence] v
1: swell or protrude outwards; "His stomach bulged after the huge meal" [syn: bulge, pouch, protrude]
2: bulge out; form a bulge outward, or be so full as to appear to bulge [syn: bulge, bag]
3: bulge outward; "His eyes popped" [syn: start, protrude, pop, pop out, bulge, bulge out, bug out, come out]
4: cause to bulge or swell outwards [syn: bulge, bulk]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (bulged; bulging) Etymology: Middle English bolgen Date: 15th century transitive verb to cause to bulge intransitive verb 1. archaic bilge 2. a. to jut out ; swell b. to bend outward c. to become swollen or protuberant <bulging eyes> 3. to be filled to overflowing <a notebook bulging with ideas> II. noun Etymology: Middle English boulge, bouge leather bag, curved part, from Anglo-French bouge bag — more at budget Date: 1622 1. a. bilge 1 b. bilge 2 2. a protuberant or swollen part or place 3. advantage, upper hand 4. sudden expansion Synonyms: see projection • bulgy adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a a convex part of an otherwise flat or flatter surface. b an irregular swelling; a lump. 2 colloq. a temporary increase in quantity or number (baby bulge). 3 Naut. the bilge of a ship. 4 Mil. a salient. --v. 1 intr. swell outwards. 2 intr. be full or replete. 3 tr. swell (a bag, cheeks, etc.) by stuffing. Phrases and idioms: have (or get) the bulge on sl. have or get an advantage over. Derivatives: bulgingly adv. bulgy adj. Etymology: ME f. OF boulge, bouge f. L bulga: see BUDGET

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bulge Bulge, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bulged; p. pr. & vb. n. Bulging.] 1. To swell or jut out; to bend outward, as a wall when it yields to pressure; to be protuberant; as, the wall bulges. 2. To bilge, as a ship; to founder. And scattered navies bulge on distant shores. --Broome.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bulge Bulge, n. [OE. bulge a swelling; cf. AS. belgan to swell, OSw. bulgja, Icel. b[=o]lginn swollen, OHG. belgan to swell, G. bulge leathern sack, Skr. b?h to be large, strong; the root meaning to swell. Cf. Bilge, Belly, Billow, Bouge, n.] 1. The bilge or protuberant part of a cask. 2. A swelling, protuberant part; a bending outward, esp. when caused by pressure; as, a bulge in a wall. 3. (Naut.) The bilge of a vessel. See Bilge, 2. Bulge ways. (Naut.) See Bilge ways.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(bulges, bulging, bulged) 1. If something such as a person's stomach bulges, it sticks out. Jiro waddled closer, his belly bulging and distended... He bulges out of his black T-shirt... He is 6ft 3ins with bulging muscles. VERB: V, V adv/prep, V-ing 2. 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. He shouted at his brother, his neck veins bulging. ...bulging eyes. = protrude VERB: V, V-ing 3. If you say that something is bulging with things, you are emphasizing that it is full of them. They returned home with the car bulging with boxes. ...a bulging briefcase. VERB: oft cont, V with n, V-ing, also V [emphasis] 4. 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? N-COUNT 5. If there is a bulge in something, there is a sudden large increase in it. ...a bulge in aircraft sales. N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp, oft N in/of n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Protuberance, bilge, belly, swell, swelling. II. v. n. Protrude, jut out, swell, be protuberant.

Moby Thesaurus

advantage, allowance, bag, balloon, beetle, belly, belly out, bilge, billow, blain, bleb, blister, blob, boss, bouge, bow, bubble, bug, bulb, bulla, bump, bunch, burl, button, cahot, chine, clump, coign of vantage, condyle, convex, deadwood, dilate, distend, dowel, drop, ear, edge, expand, flange, flap, flying start, gall, gnarl, goggle, handicap, handle, head start, hill, hump, hunch, inside track, jog, joggle, jump, jut, knob, knot, knur, knurl, lip, loop, lump, mole, mountain, nevus, nub, nubbin, nubble, odds, overhand, overhang, papilloma, peg, poke, pooch, pop, pouch, pout, project, projection, protrude, protrusion, protuberance, protuberate, rib, ridge, ring, round out, running start, shoulder, something extra, something in reserve, spine, stand out, start, stick out, stud, style, swell, swell out, swelling, tab, tubercle, tubercule, upper hand, vantage, vantage ground, vantage point, verruca, vesicle, wale, wart, welt, whip hand