wholesale

noun

whole·sale | \ ˈhōl-ˌsāl

Definition of wholesale

(Entry 1 of 4)

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

wholesale

adjective

Definition of wholesale (Entry 2 of 4)

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

adverb

Definition of wholesale (Entry 3 of 4)

: in a wholesale manner

wholesale

verb

wholesaled; wholesaling

Definition of wholesale (Entry 4 of 4)

transitive verb

: to sell (something) in quantity usually for resale

intransitive verb

: to sell in quantity usually for resale

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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

Chateau Reina is a startling sight, as if a medieval Tuscan castle had been moved, wholesale, to the Chinese countryside. — Mark Ellwood, Condé Nast Traveler, "Why China Should Be Your Next Wine Destination," 11 Sep. 2018 Even as the administration haltingly pursued treason charges against Lee and the others, the president was proclaiming amnesty wholesale for all but the topmost Confederates. — Fergus M. Bordewich, WSJ, "‘The Lost Indictment of Robert E. Lee’ Review: The Cost of Conciliation," 12 July 2018 Prices for Parmigiano are cyclical; wheels aged for 12 months currently cost almost €4.40 a pound wholesale in Italy, up from €3.40 in 2015 but lower than the high of the past decade, €4.90 a pound in 2011. — Eric Sylvers, WSJ, "Someone Is Stealing Italy’s Most Precious Cheese," 22 June 2018 Municipalities should be able to build wholesale fibre networks to give their communities more high-speed broadband options; the Trump administration should urge the industry to build a national wholesale 5G wireless network. — The Economist, "AT&T and Time Warner are cleared to merge," 14 June 2018 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

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

The cauliflower was shipped to wholesale distributors in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, the company says. — Sarah Jacoby, SELF, "Cauliflower Recalled for Possible E. Coli Contamination," 18 Dec. 2018 The past is shot in a way that’s reminiscent of ’70s and ’80s thrillers — and scored that way, too, with some tracks lifted wholesale, from movies like Dressed to Kill. — Karen Han, Vox, "Homecoming, starring Julia Roberts, is simpler than it appears — and a pleasure to watch," 2 Nov. 2018 Queen Victoria Market The Queen Vic Market was officially opened in 1878, and since that time has operated as a cemetery, a livestock market, and a wholesale fruit and vegetable market. — Krista Simmons, Condé Nast Traveler, "13 Best Things to Do in Melbourne," 26 Sep. 2018 So $57—including packaging—to $114 wholesale means $228 retail. — Diana Budds, Curbed, "How Trump’s tariffs are affecting the furniture industry," 7 Aug. 2018 Banks have also raised mortgage lending rates in recent months in response to higher wholesale funding costs, reversing a fall in home loan interest rates over the last year, and spooking borrowers. — James Glynn, WSJ, "Reserve Bank of Australia Holds Fire on Rates," 2 Oct. 2018 The question now is by how much, as Energy Secretary Rick Perry says his agency is assessing the economics of raising wholesale power costs for coal and nuclear plants. — James Osborne, Houston Chronicle, "Will high costs derail Trump's coal and nuclear bailout?," 29 June 2018 With similar regulations last year, the wholesale cost for California king salmon peaked at $28 a pound, said Ted Wilson, chef-owner of the San Francisco restaurant Fine and Rare, effectively turning a 6-ounce portion into a $40 restaurant entree. — Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, "Another short salmon season means skimpy year, high prices," 30 Apr. 2018 In one case, the weighted wholesale cost for one medicine — Nitrostat, which is used to prevent chest pain — rose by 477 percent. — Ed Silverman, STAT, "Prices for widely prescribed Medicare Part D drugs rose 12 percent annually, but mind the caveat," 26 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

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

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.