: the sale of commodities in quantity usually for resale (as by a retail merchant)
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
: in a wholesale manner
wholesaled; wholesaling
: to sell (something) in quantity usually for resale
: 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
Lynn Yaeger, Vogue, 28 Apr. 2025
In the Americas, Guess wholesale saw double-digit growth, driven by higher shipments to off-price accounts, as well as the direct operation of its outerwear business, which previously was operated by G3 as a licensed business.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 9 Apr. 2025
Doug Gollan, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
This harmed wholesale volumes of light duty full-size trucks, which declined year-over-year.
—Jackie Charniga, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
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
Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 16 Apr. 2025
From headquarters in the city’s most upscale mixed-use building, The Main Las Olas, BBX Capital operates subsidiaries ranging from real estate development to logistics to retail confections to door manufacturing and wholesaling.
—David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wholesale
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Noun
But if these pins have been dying a quiet death for decades—women have rejected them wholesale, and instead have been turning them into necklaces, charms, anything but brooches—men have moved in, and now these sparklers dazzle from the fanciest monkey suits on the planet.
—Lynn Yaeger, Vogue, 28 Apr. 2025
In the Americas, Guess wholesale saw double-digit growth, driven by higher shipments to off-price accounts, as well as the direct operation of its outerwear business, which previously was operated by G3 as a licensed business.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
Stratos Jets, which offers a wholesale pricing membership, cut the markup in a recent promotion.
—Doug Gollan, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
This harmed wholesale volumes of light duty full-size trucks, which declined year-over-year.
—Jackie Charniga, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
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
Verb
The company wholesales its collection to Neiman Marcus, Goop and specialty stores.
—Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 16 Apr. 2025
From headquarters in the city’s most upscale mixed-use building, The Main Las Olas, BBX Capital operates subsidiaries ranging from real estate development to logistics to retail confections to door manufacturing and wholesaling.
—David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wholesale
Cite this Entry
“Wholesale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wholesale. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wholesale
1 of 3 noun
whole·sale
ˈhōl-ˌsāl 
: the sale of goods in large quantity usually for resale (as by a store owner)
wholesale
2 of 3 adjective1
: 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
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