: 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
Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 7 May 2026
Cencora — Shares plummeted 17% after the drug wholesale and distribution company dialed back its revenue growth expectations for 2026.
—Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 6 May 2026
Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2026
Asics added that the region’s sustained focus on the wholesale channel continues to maintain strong results while deepening key account relationships.
—Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 13 May 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
His father, Mauro Garavani, married Valentino's mother, Teresa, and opened a barbershop before turning to a career in wholesaling electrical equipment, which guaranteed the family a certain affluence.
—Elena Banfi, Vanity Fair, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wholesale
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Noun
Long a fan of Georges Franju’s cult horror movie Les Yeux Sans Visage, the French composer decided to reinvent the score wholesale—originally for the Belgian cultural center Viernulvier’s Videodroom series, and now on record.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 7 May 2026
Cencora — Shares plummeted 17% after the drug wholesale and distribution company dialed back its revenue growth expectations for 2026.
—Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 6 May 2026
Adjective
That’s because the government’s gas tax isn’t collected right at the pump, but rather at the wholesale level.
—Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2026
Asics added that the region’s sustained focus on the wholesale channel continues to maintain strong results while deepening key account relationships.
—Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 13 May 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
His father, Mauro Garavani, married Valentino's mother, Teresa, and opened a barbershop before turning to a career in wholesaling electrical equipment, which guaranteed the family a certain affluence.
—Elena Banfi, Vanity Fair, 19 Jan. 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 15 May. 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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