bulk

/bʌlk/

//bʌlk// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bulk" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bulk” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,195 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#5,195
frequency rank, English
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Size, specifically, volume.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bulk vs but
50% similar
bulk vs buy
50% similar
bulk vs bus
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bulk
PropertyValue
Headwordbulk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bʌlk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#5,195
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bulk” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). bulk lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for bulk is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bʌlk/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,195 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for bulk, with forms such as "bbulk", "bluk", and "bukl". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "but", "buy", "bus", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bulk, bolke (“a heap, cargo, hold; heap; bulge”), borrowed from Old Norse búlki (“the freight or the cargo of a ship”), from Proto-Germanic *bulkô (“beam, pile, heap”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“beam, pile, prop”). Compare Icela… The correct English form is bulk, spelled B-U-L-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    Size, specifically, volume.
  2. 2
    Any huge body or structure.
  3. 3
    The major part of something.
  4. 4
    The major part of something.
  5. 5
    The major part of something.
  6. 6
    Dietary fibre.
  7. 7
    Unpackaged goods when transported in large volumes, e.g. coal, ore, or grain.
  8. 8
    A cargo or any items moved or communicated in the manner of cargo.
  9. 9
    Excess body mass, especially muscle.
  10. 10
    A period where one tries to gain muscle.
  11. 11
    A hypothetical higher-dimensional space within which our own four-dimensional universe may exist.
  12. 12
    The body.

Etymology

From Middle English bulk, bolke (“a heap, cargo, hold; heap; bulge”), borrowed from Old Norse búlki (“the freight or the cargo of a ship”), from Proto-Germanic *bulkô (“beam, pile, heap”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“beam, pile, prop”). Compare Icelandic búlkast (“to be bulky”), Swedish dialectal bulk (“a bunch”), Danish bulk (“bump, knob”). Conflated with Middle English bouk (“belly, trunk”).

This word in other languages

masa(Español)grosseur(Français)Großteil(Deutsch)volume(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbulk,bluk,bukl,bulkk,bullk,ublk

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bulk - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbulk1bluk2bukl2bulkk1bullk1ublk2
Edit distance from "bulk"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bulk"?
"bulk" is spelled B-U-L-K. The IPA pronunciation is /bʌlk/.
What does "bulk" mean?
As a noun, "bulk" means: Size, specifically, volume.
What words are commonly confused with "bulk"?
"bulk" is commonly confused with "but", "buy", "bus". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bulk"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bulk" is /bʌlk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bulk"?
From Middle English bulk, bolke (“a heap, cargo, hold; heap; bulge”), borrowed from Old Norse búlki (“the freight or the cargo of a ship”), from Proto-Germanic *bulkô (“beam, pile, heap”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“beam, pile, prop”). Com... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “bulk”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-U-L-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /bʌlk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “but” - see the side-by-side comparison. bulk vs but
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list