"wholesale" - meanings, definitions, synonyms, thesaurus and antonyms

\Whole"sale`\, n.
Sale of goods by the piece or large quantity, as
distinguished from retail.

{By wholesale}, in the mass; in large quantities; without
   distinction or discrimination.

         Some, from vanity or envy, despise a valuable book,
         and throw contempt upon it by wholesale. --I. Watts.

\Whole"sale`\, a.
1. Pertaining to, or engaged in, trade by the piece or large
   quantity; selling to retailers or jobbers rather than to
   consumers; as, a wholesale merchant; the wholesale price.

2. Extensive and indiscriminate; as, wholesale slaughter. ``A
   time for wholesale trust.'' --Mrs. Humphry Ward.