wholesale

1 of 4

noun

whole·​sale ˈhōl-ˌsāl How to pronounce wholesale (audio)
: the sale of commodities in quantity usually for resale (as by a retail merchant)

wholesale

2 of 4

adjective

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

wholesale

3 of 4

adverb

: in a wholesale manner

wholesale

4 of 4

verb

wholesaled; wholesaling

transitive verb

: to sell (something) in quantity usually for resale

intransitive verb

: to sell in quantity usually for resale

Examples of wholesale in a Sentence

Adjective The crops originated from wholesale growers. Is that price retail or wholesale? Verb The company wholesales clothing to boutiques in the area.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Bardales initially planned to open a retail store but determined wholesale was more immediately feasible. The Indianapolis Star, 5 Jan. 2024 Advertisement At the start of 2023, the commodity (or wholesale) price of natural gas soared to record levels across California and below-normal temperatures caused prices to soar to unprecedented levels. Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2023 But a number of high-profile lawsuits brought by artists and stock art companies are vehemently contesting that argument, saying these AI models copied their content wholesale without permission. Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 3 July 2023 Unlike the industrial sector, farmers are unable to set retail prices for their produce and have to sell their crops in bulk at wholesale after harvest, which drives down prices for them across the board. Siladitya Ray, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 But that picture has changed in recent years as scientists have begun systematically mapping stars wholesale. Ann Finkbeiner, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024 Money raised will be used to buy 150 frozen turkeys at wholesale for families to pick up the week of Thanksgiving. Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2023 The script, which sticks close to the book, pokes timely holes in a strain of American mythology whose dismantling is overdue and, as evidenced by lesser filmmakers’ eagerness to repackage it wholesale, incomplete. Andrew Marzoni, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2023 The commodity, or wholesale, price of natural gas reached $1.05 per therm in December 2022 and soared to $3.45 per therm one month later. Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Dec. 2023
Adjective
Maryland Democrats last carried out wholesale tax increases under Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley to plug large budget holes partly caused by the Great Recession. Erin Cox, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 In some cases, owners are considering the wholesale conversion of office towers and hotel high-rises. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2024 The most profound dread is a wholesale confrontation with Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies, without American backing. Bernard Avishai, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2024 In the digital realm, the ability to meticulously track, assess and enhance every cent spent renders the old wholesale buying model irrelevant, emphasizing the need for precision and optimization in advertising investments for true business success. Aleks Farseev, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Maidens of the county would have to sprint to the alter in wholesale lots to beat last year's record. Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 27 Feb. 2024 Erik Edwards, one of Battelle’s principal materials scientists, said that the Food and Drug Administration’s review process for new devices has led the team to tweak existing products rather than propose wholesale changes. Ted Alcorn, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024 While any early, wholesale shift in attitude seems out of the question, the weeks ahead may bring some signs of movement. Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2024 Concentration also means lower wholesale costs, a cost factor usually invisible to consumers. Errol Schweizer, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Adverb
It got picked up wholesale from blog to blog and Tumblr to Tumblr so rapidly that the pedigree of it got lost. Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 10 Aug. 2012 ByteStyle, the company’s code of values, preaches a culture that could have been lifted wholesale from Google or Amazon: diverse, inclusive, radically honest and transparent. Alex W. Palmer, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022 Last year, the decades-old chemotherapy drug fludarabine could be purchased wholesale for $110. Tony Paquin and David Sanders, STAT, 14 Dec. 2022 Many of these scenes are lifted wholesale from her own life. Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2022 Dealers would buy cars wholesale at set prices from automakers. Chris Isidore, CNN, 19 Feb. 2022 Neither Asket or Birdsong sell wholesale to avoid the pressure from retailers to produce new collections, and their pool of potential investors was narrowed down to those who share their purpose. Olivia Pinnock, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2021 But there's one other matter to wrap up before moving wholesale into 2022: my prediction for the biggest gaming product to not last past the end of this new year. Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 6 Jan. 2022 But Trump’s wild-eyed notions about presidential power, while extreme, did not spring wholesale from his imagination. Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 18 Sep. 2021
Verb
Philadelphia’s licensing of residential real estate wholesalers has provided transparency into who is wholesaling, Dugan said. Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, 2 Aug. 2023 Fentanyl is so cheap to make that the cartel reaps massive profits even wholesaling the drug at 50 cents per pill, prosecutors said. Christopher Sherman and Mark Stevenson, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2023 That's one of the reasons Carnes has continued to wholesale her baked goods to local stores, such as Giant Leap in the Galleria area and Retrospect Coffee Bar, one of the few partners entrusted with selling her kolaches. Jennifer Stewart, Chron, 20 Apr. 2023 Ledoux is shelving a plan to wholesale its bouquets to stores like Target next year, which would have meant the addition of 30 employees. Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2022 The two approached companies including Diptyque and Santa Maria Novella, which declined to wholesale their products. New York Times, 9 Mar. 2022 He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and served in the infantry at Fort Leavenworth (Kansas) before returning to Greensburg with an honorable discharge in 1955, joining the family retail and wholesaling businesses. Akeem Glaspie, Indianapolis Star, 6 May 2020 But on Wednesday, the ship nevertheless began disgorging passengers wholesale. New York Times, 10 Mar. 2020 Fiat Chrysler and its peers are expected to lose tens of billions of dollars by idling their plants for weeks because they book revenue by wholesaling vehicles to their dealers. Gabrielle Coppola, Bloomberg.com, 28 Apr. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wholesale.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Adverb

1696, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1792, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of wholesale was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near wholesale

Cite this Entry

“Wholesale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wholesale. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

wholesale

1 of 3 noun
whole·​sale ˈhōl-ˌsāl How to pronounce wholesale (audio)
: the sale of goods in large quantity usually for resale (as by a store owner)

wholesale

2 of 3 adjective
1
: of, relating to, or engaged in the sale of goods in quantity for resale
a wholesale grocer
wholesale prices
2
: done on a large scale : general
wholesale changes in the team's roster
wholesale adverb

wholesale

3 of 3 verb
wholesaled; wholesaling
: to sell usually in large amounts for resale
wholesaler noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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