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# wholesale

noun (wholesale, uncountable); adjective (wholesale); adverb (wholesale)

«wholesale» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (money) Selling goods in large amounts to shops and businesses, who then sell them on to customers at a higher price. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/#m1)
2. (adjective, money) To do with such selling: "wholesale prices". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/#m2)
3. Done on a very large scale, often too much and without care: "wholesale destruction". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/#m3)
4. (adverb) In large amounts, or completely. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/#m4)

### In the lessons

In money and business lessons, the chain goes: a factory makes goods, a wholesaler buys lots of them cheaply, a shop buys from the wholesaler, and you buy from the shop at the retail price. The difference between wholesale and retail prices is how shops make a profit. In the news, "wholesale" can also mean huge and sweeping, often bad: "wholesale changes", "wholesale destruction". Phrases: "buy wholesale", "wholesale price", "wholesale changes".

### Examples

- The shop buys its sweets wholesale and sells them one by one. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/#x1)
- The wholesale price of a pen was 20p, and the shop sold it for 50p. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/#x2)
- Grandad runs a wholesale fruit business. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/#x3)
- The storm caused wholesale damage to the forest. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/#x4)
- The new head teacher made wholesale changes to the timetable. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/#x5)
- Buying wholesale is cheaper because you buy a lot at once. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/#x6)
- Then came the mother herself, in crinoline, Madame AUGUST, a wholesale dealer in fruit, proprietress of a large number of fish ponds and a land cultivator. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/#x7)

### Note

Opposite: retail (selling to the public). A wholesaler is the business that sells wholesale. Maths: profit per item = retail price minus wholesale price; for example, bought at 20p and sold at 50p gives 30p profit per item. Wholesale prices are usually lower per item because you buy in bulk.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «wholesale» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wholesale/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«wholesale» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/wholesale.html) on Mova free.