bulky

From Middle English bulki, boulky, equivalent to bulk +‎ -y.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʌlki/

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bulky (comparative bulkier, superlative bulkiest)

1. Being large in size, mass, or volume; big, fat or muscular.
   • 1958 February, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 87:

     Action such as this, filmed under great difficulty with a bulky, hand-cranked camera, revealed the possibilities of the movies and was quite startling in those early days.

   • 1960 March, G. Freeman Allen, “Europe's most luxurious express - the "Settebello"”, in Trains Illustrated, page 140:

     Needless to say, one's seat must be booked in advance and a platoon of urbane officials, one to each door of the train, awaits passengers to usher them to their seats and relieve them of their bulkier baggage.

   • 2025 October 21, Rose George, “‘I knew in my head we were dying’: the last voyage of the Scandies Rose”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     The captain did a safety drill. This covered where the emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was located, how to make a mayday call, and where the fire extinguishers were. A crew member demonstrated how to put on an immersion suit. These survival suits are waterproof full-body garments with a hood and integral three-finger gloves and boots. They are bulky and hard to get on but far more likely to save your life in cold water than a lifejacket.

2. Unwieldy.
3. (bodybuilding) Having excess body mass, especially muscle.