bulge
Third Person
bulges
Present Participle
bulging
Past Tense
bulged
Past Participle
bulged
1
to cause something to stick out, often due to pressure or excess
transitive
- Tightening the screws too much may bulge the surface of the wooden board.
- Excessive weightlifting has intermittently bulged his muscles.
- Overloading the bag may bulge its sides.
- Exceeding the weight limit may bulge the bottom of the cardboard box during transportation.
Synonyms:
2
to swell disproportionately or unexpectedly
- As the temperatures dropped, the pipes in the old house began to bulge.
- The fabric of the tent bulged in the wind, straining against its stakes as the storm approached.
- Under the pressure of the expanding dough, the bread in the oven started to bulge.
- The tires on the car bulged slightly under the weight of the heavy cargo.
3
to be filled to capacity and visibly distended as a result
- The trash bag bulged with discarded papers and empty containers.
- His backpack bulged with the weight of his laptop, textbooks, and water bottle.
- The squirrel's cheeks bulged with the nuts it had gathered for the winter.
- The suitcase bulged with souvenirs and gifts from their travels abroad.
- Her purse bulged with all the essentials she insisted on carrying with her everywhere.
Synonyms: