I. ˈhōlˌsāl noun
Etymology: Middle English holesale, from hole, hool entire, whole + sale
1. : the sale of goods or commodities in quantity usually for resale (as by a retail merchant)
2. : a large scale or indiscriminate transaction or maneuver — used especially in the phrase by wholesale
killed off the pests by wholesale
II. adjective
1. : of, relating to, or engaged in the sale of goods or commodities in quantity for resale
a wholesale grocer
a wholesale lot of store fixtures
wholesale failures increased by 36 percent — Eric Sevareid
2. : performed on a large scale : handling or affecting large numbers or quantities : extensive , massive
wholesale blackmail and extortion amounting to millions — A.L.Vogelback
wholesale character assassination — R.L.Roy
the wholesale intrusion of the neon-lit world of mass entertainment — film, radio, jazz — has also left its mark — M.J.Lasky
a wholesale attack upon those who teach English in our colleges — J.D.Adams
3. : marked by failure of discrimination, selection, or discretion : made, applied, or carried out so as to affect large numbers in the same way without regard to the merits of individual instances
the wholesale character of this answer prevents critical examination and discrimination of the particular facts involved in the actual problem — John Dewey
III. adverb
Etymology: wholesale (II)
: in a wholesale manner
although wartime experience yielded valuable lessons, it cannot be applied wholesale to peace — Economist
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: wholesale (I)
intransitive verb
: to sell at wholesale
averaged a straight $50 markup when he wholesaled to the bootlegger — Motor Trend
small plastic novelties that wholesale at $2 a hundred
transitive verb
: to sell (something) at wholesale
it was wholesaling education in diluted form — Dwayne Orton