: 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
Jennifer Bringle, Footwear News, 28 May 2026
Bown and Keynes were careful not to advocate for copying the Chinese model wholesale.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 May 2026
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026
Half of the hit PVH is seeing comes from its business directly in the Middle East, where wholesale partners have been impacted, as well as in Turkey, which is feeling a knock-on effect.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 3 June 2026
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
Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 8 May 2026
Light industrial uses could include storage yards, data and information processing, medical or dental laboratories, research and development, warehouses, wholesaling or a recycling center.
—Abigail Hasebroock, Sun Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wholesale
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Noun
But unlike traditional wholesale, Walker said her partnerships with the artisans are personal and collaborative, with the goal of making the woman successful.
—Jennifer Bringle, Footwear News, 28 May 2026
Bown and Keynes were careful not to advocate for copying the Chinese model wholesale.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 May 2026
Adjective
The neighborhood, once known only to locals, has small tailor shops, warehouses, and wholesale businesses.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026
Half of the hit PVH is seeing comes from its business directly in the Middle East, where wholesale partners have been impacted, as well as in Turkey, which is feeling a knock-on effect.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 3 June 2026
Adverb
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
Verb
The company doesn’t wholesale its collection.
—Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 8 May 2026
Light industrial uses could include storage yards, data and information processing, medical or dental laboratories, research and development, warehouses, wholesaling or a recycling center.
—Abigail Hasebroock, Sun Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wholesale
Cite this Entry
“Wholesale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wholesale. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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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