ENGLISH
REFERENCE

bulk out

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to make something bigger or thicker by adding more of something else to it.

phr. v.. to increase the volume, mass, or substance of something by adding supplementary material, often of lower quality or cost.


SIMPLE

You can bulk out the soup by adding some extra potatoes.

CONTEXTUAL

The author had to bulk out the final chapter with extra descriptions to meet the publisher's word count.

COMPLEX

Food manufacturers often bulk out processed meats with cereal fillers to reduce production costs while maintaining the appearance of a full portion.

Particles
out
Separability
optional
Pattern
bulk + object + out
Usage

usually used with food, text, or physical objects where volume is increased by adding fillers.

Teaching tip

connect this to the noun 'bulk' (large size); it often carries a slight negative nuance of adding 'filler' rather than high-quality content.

Pitfall

I bulked out it with water.I bulked it out with water.when using a pronoun like 'it', it must go between the verb and the particle 'out'.

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