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bulge

/bʌldʒ//bʌldʒ/·verb, noun
Animated scene
Fig. 1 — A garden hose lies capped at one end.
01Definition

To bulge is to swell outward at one spot — a single rounded lump pushing out of a surface while the rest stays flat. Pockets bulge with coins, a wall bulges where water presses behind it, eyes bulge with surprise. It comes from Latin bulga, 'a leather bag', and keeps that image of something stuffed until it strains its skin. Unlike distend, which stretches a whole vessel taut, a bulge is local; unlike a plain swell, it names the shape — a definite outward bump.

02In use
  • iHis jacket pockets bulged with everything he had grabbed on the way out.
  • iiThe old dam began to bulge where the water pressed hardest, though it did not yet break.
  • iiiDemand can bulge suddenly, and a firm that cannot expand fast enough loses the sale.
03Collocations
  • bulge with
  • bulging pockets
  • a bulge in demand
  • eyes bulge
  • bulge outward

Family bulging (adjective) · bulge (noun) · bulgy (adjective)

04Relations

=swell, protrude, distend, balloon, expand

≠contract, recede, cave in

06TOEFL & IELTS

Bulge is a concrete, everyday verb — less clinical than distend, more specific than swell: it names a single outward lump caused by pressure from within. Note the common pattern 'bulge with' (full to overflowing), especially in the participle: 'bulging with'. Its figurative economics/demography uses are exam-worthy — 'a bulge in demand', 'a youth bulge'. Spelling trap: drop the e — bulging, not 'bulgeing'.

07Asked
What does bulge mean?
To bulge is to swell out at one spot into a rounded lump, while the surface around it stays flat — a pocket bulges with coins, a wall bulges under pressure. It is both a verb and a noun (the lump itself is 'a bulge'), and it always suggests something pushing outward from within.
What does 'bulging with' something mean?
'Bulging with' means so full of something that it swells outward — 'a suitcase bulging with clothes', 'a report bulging with detail'. It is especially common in the participle form (bulging with), and it stresses overflowing fullness — the container barely able to hold its contents.
How do you spell 'bulging' — why not 'bulgeing'?
It is bulging, with no e. Bulge ends in a silent e, and English drops that e before adding -ing: bulge → bulging, just as make → making. The noun keeps the e (a bulge), and so does the past tense (bulged). Only the -ing form loses it.
What does it mean when someone's eyes or veins bulge?
It means they push outward and stand out — eyes bulge with shock, fear, or effort; veins bulge on a straining arm. In the scene above a hose does the same thing under water pressure: something inside pushes until the surface swells out at that spot. It is a vivid way to show strong feeling or physical strain.
Is bulge formal enough for academic writing?
Yes, in the right place. For concrete description it is perfectly good ('the map showed the coastline bulging outward'), and its economics and demography senses are academic ('a bulge in demand', 'a demographic bulge'). For a swelling described neutrally or clinically, distend or swell may fit better; bulge always keeps its picture of a local, outward lump.
What is the difference between bulge, swell, and protrude?
Swell is the general word for getting bigger; protrude means simply to stick out. Bulge is the most vivid of the three: it is a rounded lump swelling out at one point under pressure from inside. A balloon swells, a shelf protrudes, but a wall bulges where the water is pushing behind it.