: 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
Trefis Team, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
Sales representatives for wholesale and manufacturing The department expect sales representatives for wholesale and manufacturing products to about 38,000 employees, an increase of about 8% from 2022.
—Ricardo Torres, Journal Sentinel, 27 Dec. 2024
CBS News, 24 Jan. 2025
While not a wholesale transformation, this trend reveals a significant market segmentation driven by artificial intelligence’s expanding technological footprint.
—Kristina Partsinevelos, CNBC, 23 Jan. 2025
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
Max Berlinger, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The proposal would open the door to wholesaling marijuana to the new entities, according to Savchenko.
—Dara Kam, Sun Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for wholesale 
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Noun
In its third-quarter results, Guess reported mixed regional performance, characterized by strength in European markets and Americas wholesale, offset by declines in North American and Asian retail segments.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
Sales representatives for wholesale and manufacturing The department expect sales representatives for wholesale and manufacturing products to about 38,000 employees, an increase of about 8% from 2022.
—Ricardo Torres, Journal Sentinel, 27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
Costco shareholders voted down a shareholder proposal urging the wholesale club operator to evaluate any risks posed by its diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, practices.
—CBS News, 24 Jan. 2025
While not a wholesale transformation, this trend reveals a significant market segmentation driven by artificial intelligence’s expanding technological footprint.
—Kristina Partsinevelos, CNBC, 23 Jan. 2025
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
Another engine of growth was wholesaling to retailers like Nordstrom and REI, which bolstered Mr. Kudla’s vision of a brand that could exist alongside both fashion labels and outdoor gear.
—Max Berlinger, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The proposal would open the door to wholesaling marijuana to the new entities, according to Savchenko.
—Dara Kam, Sun Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2025
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 30 Jan. 2025.
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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