English Reference
Adjective

bulky

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ˈbəɫki/ UK /bˈʌlki/ bulky

adj.large and difficult to carry or move because of its size or shape. It describes things that take up a lot of space but are not necessarily heavy.

adj.having a large volume or size that makes handling, storage, or transport difficult. Often used to describe physical objects that are awkwardly shaped or take up significant space.


SIMPLE

The winter coat is too bulky to fit in my small suitcase.

CONTEXTUAL

The delivery driver struggled to get the bulky package through the narrow apartment doorway.

COMPLEX

Modern electronics have replaced bulky vacuum tubes with tiny transistors, allowing devices to become significantly more portable without sacrificing processing power.

Usage

Typically used attributively before a noun or predicatively after a linking verb like 'be', 'look', or 'feel'.

It’s hardly any more bulky than a traditional smartphone, but it’s a tablet that fits in your pocket.

Ars Technica· 14 Aug 2026

From Middle English bulki, boulky, equivalent to bulk + -y.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Middle English bulki
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated