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
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Recent Examples of bales
As the size and frequency of wildfires in Northwestern rangelands increase, fire-resistant options like straw bales are becoming increasingly popular.
—
Noah Daly, Idaho Statesman, 13 June 2026
The Coast Guard recovered the suspect from the water, as well as 10 bales of contraband wrapped in brown bags.
—Stephen Smith, CBS News, 12 June 2026
Over in the next aisle, Gifty Anderson, who typically buys bales from Canada and the United Kingdom, held up a dress smeared with body makeup and tossed it aside without a second thought.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 8 June 2026
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
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
Noah Daly, Idaho Statesman, 13 June 2026
The Coast Guard recovered the suspect from the water, as well as 10 bales of contraband wrapped in brown bags.
—Stephen Smith, CBS News, 12 June 2026
Over in the next aisle, Gifty Anderson, who typically buys bales from Canada and the United Kingdom, held up a dress smeared with body makeup and tossed it aside without a second thought.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 8 June 2026
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bales
Noun
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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
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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
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At Meta, Mark Zuckerberg placed a chatbot into flagship products like Instagram and WhatsApp, raided rivals to amass talent, and doled out compensation packages that paid machine-learning engineers more than professional ballplayers.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
11 Dec. 2025
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also warned about a variation on brushing scams where the unsolicited packages contain a QR code.—
Katie Wiseman,
IndyStar,
11 Dec. 2025
Noun
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The necklaces include five handmade Taco Bell charms, including Street Chalupas and Fire Hot Sauce packets.—
Chiara Kim,
PEOPLE,
16 June 2026
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Some families even bring their housekeepers, presumably to clean up all of the empty soy sauce packets.—
Brendan Cosgrove,
Fortune,
15 June 2026
Noun
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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
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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
-
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
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Across multiple designs and operating conditions, CNTF heaters consistently achieved higher specific power loadings than comparable metal-alloy elements.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Nearly 100 battery fire incidents occurred in 2025, mostly involving battery packs and vape devices, according to FAA data.—
Kiki Intarasuwan,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
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The stickers come in packs that contain seven to eight stickers with different images to trade and collect.—
Julianna Mejia,
Kansas City Star,
15 June 2026
Noun
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The competing drafts only exacerbated days of confusion around the prospects for a deal to end the fighting that began with US and Israeli missile attacks against Iran on February 28.—
Salma El Wardany,
Fortune,
14 June 2026
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Hiro said the problem is that the high-frequency, low-stakes work that used to go to junior people – first drafts, routine processing – is the same work that caters best to AI.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bales. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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