as in bundles
a large amount of a material (such as hay or wool) that is pressed together tightly and often tied or wrapped
a bale of cotton/paper
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of bales
Local farmer Frank Stoeber began spinning the ball in 1953, incorporating twine from the hay bales of 85 neighboring farmers.
—
Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 June 2026
From there, the bales were shipped to Chemopolis in Oulu, Finland, for processing.
—Jennifer Bringle, Footwear News, 1 June 2026
Joe couldn't stub his toe without ten people wanting to run at him waving bales of gauze.
—CBS News, 31 May 2026
Limited seating in the form of chairs and hay bales will be available.
—Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026
Ann and Pat later moved to a 10-acre farm east of Franktown, where Schrader gardened, raised hens, spoiled cats and hoisted 50-pound bales of hay among other chores for the family’s eight horses.
—Billie Stanton, Denver Post, 30 Apr. 2026
Stoeber had lots of leftover twine from years of feeding his cows bales of hay.
—Lauren Schuster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Apr. 2026
Stoeber had leftover twine from years of feeding his cows bales of hay and figured rolling it into a giant ball would be a fun activity and good exercise.
—Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2026
Hay bales stacked 5 to 6 feet tall now line the property, along with a trench filled with rocks and what appears to be manure.
—Quinn Clark, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 June 2026
From there, the bales were shipped to Chemopolis in Oulu, Finland, for processing.
—Jennifer Bringle, Footwear News, 1 June 2026
Joe couldn't stub his toe without ten people wanting to run at him waving bales of gauze.
—CBS News, 31 May 2026
Limited seating in the form of chairs and hay bales will be available.
—Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026
Ann and Pat later moved to a 10-acre farm east of Franktown, where Schrader gardened, raised hens, spoiled cats and hoisted 50-pound bales of hay among other chores for the family’s eight horses.
—Billie Stanton, Denver Post, 30 Apr. 2026
Stoeber had lots of leftover twine from years of feeding his cows bales of hay.
—Lauren Schuster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Apr. 2026
Stoeber had leftover twine from years of feeding his cows bales of hay and figured rolling it into a giant ball would be a fun activity and good exercise.
—Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2026
Hay bales stacked 5 to 6 feet tall now line the property, along with a trench filled with rocks and what appears to be manure.
—Quinn Clark, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bales
Noun
-
What a Cooking School Vacation Actually Includes A cooking school vacation bundles instruction, lodging and meals into a single trip.—
Lauren Schuster,
Kansas City Star,
9 June 2026
-
Each set includes 12 bundles of faux flowers and greenery, creating a full, abundant look without any watering, pruning, or upkeep.—
Alexandra Emanuelli,
Southern Living,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
Even in an era when high school players get greater exposure than ever before, and the best players can command lucrative NIL packages, there is still plenty of room for players who slip through the cracks, for the late bloomers who need a bit more polishing and coaching.—
Teddy Cahill,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
-
Prosecutors dropped 14 murder charges under the plea deal, as investigators worldwide probe more than 100 deaths tied to 1,200 packages Law allegedly shipped to 40 countries.—
Rob Gillies,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Instead of cacao beans, officials found more than 400 packets wrapped in black foil, each containing about 20 blocks of compressed cocaine.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
-
The latter bill would have required them to provide single-use utensils, napkins, condiment packets, straws, chopsticks and other items to customers only upon request.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
The initial system, named Eos, serves as a large-scale prototype designed to achieve steady-state fusion and test structural integrity under real operational loads.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
10 June 2026
-
Einride's proprietary optimization software, Saga AI, is also being used to manage EV execution of select Amazon loads, including charging planning.—
Eric Rosenbaum,
CNBC,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Observable loadings have declined since the blockade, although the data can be difficult to interpret and often shows up on a delay.—
Anthony Di Paola,
Fortune,
2 May 2026
-
Windward said more than two dozen tankers are confined west of Hormuz as of Wednesday, with the blockade cutting Iranian oil loadings and exports by more than half.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Jensen, then with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate, had stopped in the shop after a minor league game against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Indianapolis affiliate to open some packs of baseball cards.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
8 June 2026
-
By storing more energy within the same weight, future semi-solid-state batteries could help increase vehicle range without requiring larger battery packs.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
Early drafts of the council’s report included the suggestion of cutting FEMA’s workforce in half.—
Mallory Wilson,
The Hill,
4 June 2026
-
Editors who prioritize style are already hunting drafts for the type of muddy turns of phrase and mixed metaphors that LLMs are known to deploy.—
Jasmine Vojdani,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bales. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
