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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
The decision to partner with brands such as Aritzia and come back to Amazon highlights the scrappy approach Nike is taking to wholesale. Gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC, 26 June 2025 Historically, bison roamed in sprawling herds across much of the continent, but were slaughtered for their furs wholesale in the late 1800s by settlers. Owen Clarke, Outside Online, 11 June 2025
Adjective
This, combined with a return to lower-margin wholesale channels, put pressure on profitability. Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025 Through July 15 Applications for Conejo Valley Audubon Society Lawns to Habitat & Ashes to Habitat Grants; successful applicants will receive $250 worth of bird-friendly native plants (roughly 40 to 50 plants at wholesale prices) for their new residential landscapes. Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 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 idea was to create the first ever international drugstore chain operator and drug wholesaling company. Phil Wahba, Fortune, 17 June 2025 The company currently wholesales the brand at Nordstrom, Revolve, Shopbop, Level Shoes, Galeries Lafayette, John Lewis, La Maison Simons, La Rinascente, De Bijenkorf, The Iconic, among others. Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 5 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for wholesale

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

Cite this Entry

“Wholesale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wholesale. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on wholesale

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