: 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
Vicki M. Young, Sourcing Journal, 25 Sep. 2024
The opportunity for Butterfly was to help create a best-in-class management team, bring digital marketing in-house and expand into retail via wholesale with banners such as Whole Foods and Sprouts, D'Arcangelo says.
—Richard Collings, Axios, 15 Aug. 2024
Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
However, wholesale prices are still high relative to before the pandemic.
—Jim Henry, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
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
Jean E. Palmieri, WWD, 11 Oct. 2024
What was more concerning for Ford, though, was that a Beetle wholesaled for $465 less than the Ford Fairlane and $280 less than the Falcon.
—Larry Printz, Ars Technica, 26 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for wholesale 
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
That’s because growing wholesale requires a strategy that involves getting in front of new retailers, while also deepening existing ones.
—Vicki M. Young, Sourcing Journal, 25 Sep. 2024
The opportunity for Butterfly was to help create a best-in-class management team, bring digital marketing in-house and expand into retail via wholesale with banners such as Whole Foods and Sprouts, D'Arcangelo says.
—Richard Collings, Axios, 15 Aug. 2024
Adjective
The decrease is attributed to a delay in wholesale shipments and lower ecommerce revenues.
—Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
However, wholesale prices are still high relative to before the pandemic.
—Jim Henry, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
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
Today, women’s accounts for around 15 percent of sales but is only sold through the Billy Reid channels, and is not wholesaled.
—Jean E. Palmieri, WWD, 11 Oct. 2024
What was more concerning for Ford, though, was that a Beetle wholesaled for $465 less than the Ford Fairlane and $280 less than the Falcon.
—Larry Printz, Ars Technica, 26 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for wholesale
Dictionary Entries Near wholesale
Cite this Entry
“Wholesale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wholesale. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share