wholesale

noun whole·sale \ ˈhōl-ˌsāl \

|Updated on: 10 Jul 2018

Examples: wholesale in a Sentence

Definition of wholesale

: the sale of commodities in quantity usually for resale (as by a retail merchant)

See wholesale defined for English-language learners

See wholesale defined for kids

Recent Examples of wholesale from the Web

So the difficulty of transitioning players wholesale.

— jordan culver, Pro Soccer USA, "New Orlando City coach James O’Connor gets 2.5-year deal, OCB plan in place," 2 July 2018
As Vox’s Dylan Matthews writes, Kennedy’s decision to step down means the court will likely have the votes to chisel away at the protections offered by Roe — or even overturn the decision wholesale.

— li zhou, Vox, "Two-thirds of Americans oppose rolling back Roe v. Wade," 29 June 2018
Puma’s new performance sneaker, the $120 Clyde Court, is set to be released Oct. 1 through Puma’s wholesale and retail channels.

— sara germano, WSJ, "Puma Gives Basketball Another Shot," 21 June 2018
Kupchak has said repeatedly since taking the job in April that the intent is not to blow up the roster wholesale.

— rick bonnell, charlotteobserver, "Charlotte Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak on Kemba Walker, roster reconstruction," 22 June 2018
While routes may not change wholesale across the city, the way bus service operates needs an overhaul, Walker said.

— jason laughlin, Philly.com, "Philadelphia's new bus network begins to take shape," 21 June 2018
The mean annual salary in 2015 was $89,170 for sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products as reported by Study.com.

— valerie sweeten, Houston Chronicle, "Equipment sales can bring top salaries," 17 June 2018
The end result is packaged wholesale into powdered bricks that are extremely diluted, 6 to 7 percent typically, and smuggled across the border.

— kristina davis, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Fentanyl has taken over America's drug market. Where is it coming from?," 17 June 2018
What Platforms Can Do Not all experts agree that pro-ED content should be taken down wholesale.

— louise matsakis, WIRED, "How Pro-Eating Disorder Posts Evade Filters on Social Media," 13 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wholesale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of wholesale

15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

wholesale

adjective

Definition of wholesale

1 : performed or existing on a large scale especially without discrimination

wholesale slaughter

2 : of, relating to, or engaged in the sale of commodities in quantity for resale

a wholesale grocer

See wholesale defined for English-language learners

Examples of wholesale in a Sentence

The crops originated from wholesale growers.
Is that price retail or wholesale?

Recent Examples of wholesale from the Web

Manager Pep Guardiola admitted at the end of the season that there is no need for wholesale changes at the club, and only one or two new additions should be expected.

— SI.com, "Man City Look Set to Finally Complete £108m Double Deal Ahead of Pre-Season Preparation," 4 July 2018
Since Truvada was approved six years ago, its average wholesale price has climbed by about 45 percent.

— ed silverman, STAT, "Pharmalittle: Cost of HIV prevention pill prevents adoption; senators ask PBMs to explain their role in drug pricing," 3 July 2018
Wall Street believes there's a wholesale change in the way people watch TV, even while for many of us Netflix is simply an add-on.

— claire atkinson, NBC News, "Netflix: the Albanian army that took over the world," 24 May 2018
The team modeled the effects of high (40 percent) VRE and found several notable changes relevant to the operation of wholesale energy markets.

— david roberts, Vox, "Wind and solar are coming. Grid managers need to get ready.," 18 May 2018
However, the threat of wholesale changes caused ructions throughout the sport before the decision was announced.

— rob hodgetts, CNN, "Olympic sailing overhauled in 'gender equity' drive for Paris 2024," 15 May 2018
His pushback is significant, given that he was appointed by Trump to head of the nation's main regulator of the wholesale electricity markets.

— dino grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: Coal allies call on Trump administration to use emergency powers to boost business," 14 May 2018
The Titans didn’t make wholesale changes on the other side of the ball.

— steven ruiz, For The Win, "AFC South offseason grades: Titans the new favorites after big offseason," 14 May 2018
Kohler will sell the power into the wholesale market and receive renewable energy credits the company said will meet the electric needs of 85 plants, offices and warehouses in the United States and Canada.

— lee bergquist, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Climate change and favorable prices prompt Milwaukee and Dane County to join trend of governments investing in solar power," 23 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of wholesale

1607

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

wholesale

adverb

Definition of wholesale

: in a wholesale manner

First Known Use of wholesale

1696

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

wholesale

verb

Definition of wholesale

wholesaled; wholesaling

transitive verb

: to sell (something) in quantity usually for resale

intransitive verb

: to sell in quantity usually for resale

See wholesale defined for English-language learners

Examples of wholesale in a Sentence

The company wholesales clothing to boutiques in the area.

Recent Examples of wholesale from the Web

Consistently negative offer prices to wholesale power markets from renewable energy create soft market prices that continue to drive out more resilient coal and nuclear generation.

— WSJ, "The Renewables Policy Has Made the Grid Less Secure," 19 June 2018
While the vast majority of Ripley farm's revenue comes from wholesaling traditional milk, selling Guernsey A2 milk and cheese is a way to make extra income.

— michael hill, USA TODAY, "Got indigestion? These cows could solve your milk problem," 1 June 2018
Selling these labels no doubt help beef up Stitch Fix’s profit margins because the brand is selling their own items instead of wholesaling pieces from other labels.

— cam wolf, GQ, "Stitch Fix Thinks It Can Hack Your Style," 29 May 2018
This week, Vermont passed a first-in-the-nation law that would facilitate the state’s importation of prescription drugs wholesale from Canada.

— shefali luthra, Washington Post, "Vermont Legislators Pass A Drug Importation Law. So What?," 22 May 2018
Compare that with a kilo of heroin, which wholesales for about $50,000 in Gulfport and generates a profit of just $200,000.

— Fortune, "Deadly Chinese Fentanyl Is Creating a New Era of Drug Kingpins," 6 June 2018
Law enforcement, environmental NGOs, and aquarium trade importers, wholesales, and retailers have all talked of an effective, non-invasive, and easy-to-implement cyanide test as a sort of Holy Grail.

— National Geographic, "‘Holy Grail' Test for Illegal Cyanide-Caught Aquarium Fish May Be Fatally Flawed," 5 June 2018
Trump has rolled back Obama-era initiatives wholesale since taking office.

— tom simonite, WIRED, "Obama's US Digital Service Survives Trump—Quietly," 31 May 2018
This week, Vermont passed a first-in-the-nation law that would facilitate the state’s importation of prescription drugs wholesale from Canada.

— shefali luthra, Washington Post, "Vermont Legislators Pass A Drug Importation Law. So What?," 22 May 2018

First Known Use of wholesale

1792

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

WHOLESALE Defined for English Language Learners

wholesale

noun

Definition of wholesale for English Language Learners

: the business of selling things in large amounts to other businesses rather than to individual customers

wholesale

adjective

Definition of wholesale for English Language Learners

: relating to the business of selling things in large amounts to other businesses rather than to individual customers
: affecting large numbers of people or things