: 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
Joe Reid, Vulture, 31 May 2024
The greatest risk that the United States would face by supporting the B&R wholesale is that China could use American goodwill to advance its own ascendance to the United States’ detriment—above all, by attempting to change the delicate status quo in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea.
—Gal Luft, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2016
Erika Tulfo, CNN, 11 Aug. 2024
These leaders reportedly masterminded the wholesale slaughter of children playing soccer and the Oct. 7 slaughter of families and music concert attendees.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 9 Aug. 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
Jeff Cox, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2024
The company also wholesales its collection to stores such as Kith, Revolve, Ounass, Flannels, along with smaller stores in Nantucket, Mass., New York, Los Angeles and Miami.
—Lisa Lockwood, WWD, 11 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for wholesale 
Noun
Meanwhile, the Emmys have wholesale ignored entire subgenres of reality; The Bachelor franchise has never been nominated for an Emmy in any of its iterations.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 31 May 2024
The greatest risk that the United States would face by supporting the B&R wholesale is that China could use American goodwill to advance its own ascendance to the United States’ detriment—above all, by attempting to change the delicate status quo in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea.
—Gal Luft, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2016
Adjective
While Wells Fargo says that wholesale oyster prices have come down from the previous year’s high of $117 per gallon to $88, longstanding supply issues exacerbated by climate change could mean the price that consumers see on oyster bar menus won’t be deflating anytime soon.
—Erika Tulfo, CNN, 11 Aug. 2024
These leaders reportedly masterminded the wholesale slaughter of children playing soccer and the Oct. 7 slaughter of families and music concert attendees.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 9 Aug. 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
Trade services prices fell 1.3% while margins for machinery and vehicles wholesaling tumbled 4.1%.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2024
The company also wholesales its collection to stores such as Kith, Revolve, Ounass, Flannels, along with smaller stores in Nantucket, Mass., New York, Los Angeles and Miami.
—Lisa Lockwood, WWD, 11 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for wholesale
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wholesale.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near wholesale
Cite this Entry
“Wholesale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wholesale. Accessed 7 Sep. 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
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