bulge. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

bulge

PRONUNCIATION:	blj
NOUN:	1. A protruding part; an outward curve or swelling. 2. Nautical A bilge. 3. A sudden, usually temporary increase in number or quantity: The baby boom created a bulge in school enrollment. 4. An advantage.
VERB:	Inflected forms: bulged, bulg·ing, bulg·es
TRANSITIVE VERB:	To cause to curve outward.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To curve outward. 2. To swell up. 3. To stick out; protrude. 4. To be filled or overfilled: pockets bulging with coins.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English, pouch, from Old French bulge, bouge, from Latin bulga, bag, of Celtic origin. See bhelgh- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:	bulgi·ness —NOUN bulgy —ADJECTIVE
SYNONYMS:	bulge, balloon, belly, jut, overhang, project, protrude These verbs mean to curve, spread, or extend outward past the normal or usual limit: a wallet bulging with money; expenses ballooning; a sail bellying in the wind; a pipe jutting from his mouth; overhanging eaves; projecting teeth; a head protruding from the window.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.