Wholesale has 9 different meanings across 4 categories:
the selling of goods to merchants; usually in large quantities for resale to consumers
"The factory secured a lucrative contract to sell all its new electronics directly to retailers through wholesale channels rather than individual stores."
The sale of products, often in large quantities, to retailers or other merchants.
"The factory opened a new wholesale division to supply its goods directly to local grocery stores."
In plain English: Wholesale is the practice of selling large quantities of goods to other businesses rather than directly to individual customers.
sell in large quantities
"The factory moved its entire inventory to a new warehouse and decided to sell everything wholesale to avoid storage fees."
To sell at wholesale.
"The factory owner agreed to supply raw materials directly to the local bakery at a much lower wholesale price than usual."
In plain English: To wholesale means to sell large quantities of goods directly to businesses instead of individual customers.
"The company decided to wholesale their products directly to local retailers."
Of or relating to sale in large quantities, for resale.
"The new boutique sources its entire stock from a wholesale distributor to keep prices low."
In plain English: Wholesale describes selling large quantities of goods directly to businesses rather than individual customers.
"The store decided to sell all their old stock at wholesale prices to clear out the warehouse."
Usage: Use wholesale as an adjective before nouns like prices or goods to indicate they are sold in bulk rather than individually. This term specifically refers to transactions between manufacturers and retailers, not direct sales to end consumers.
on a large scale without careful discrimination
"I buy food wholesale"
In bulk or large quantity.
"The store owner decided to buy all the holiday decorations wholesale from the factory to save money."
In plain English: To do something on a large scale for many people at once.
"The store was able to sell all its stock at wholesale prices very quickly."
The word wholesale comes from combining the Old English words hāl (whole) and sālan (to sell). It originally described the practice of selling goods in large quantities rather than individually.