: a piece of a substance (such as wood or iron) that tapers to a thin edge and is used for splitting wood and rocks, raising heavy bodies, or for tightening by being driven into something
2
a
: something (such as a policy) causing a breach or separation
b
: something used to initiate an action or development
3
: something wedge-shaped: such as
a
: an array of troops or tanks in the form of a wedge
b
: the wedge-shaped stroke in cuneiform characters
c
: a shoe having a heel extending from the back of the shoe to the front of the shank and a tread formed by an extension of the sole
d
: an iron golf club with a broad low-angled face for maximum loft
Noun
He used a wedge to split the firewood.
A wedge held the door open.
The battalion formed a wedge and marched toward the enemy. Verb
She wedged her foot into the crack.
The dog got wedged between the couch and the end table.
I wedged myself into the car's back seat.
She wedged the door open.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Nothing says summer like a juicy wedge of watermelon.—Kara Peeler, Sunset Magazine, 5 June 2024 At the par-4 16th, Arnaldo hit driver and sand wedge to about 20 feet.—Jim Lindgren, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 May 2024
Verb
Tens of thousands of these siphons are already wedged alongside crude-oil pipelines in the Arctic.—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 12 June 2024 His accordion file containing Santos Flores’ case file was wedged in its spot in the back seat, now a few pages thicker.—Rick Jervis, The Courier-Journal, 31 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for wedge
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wedge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English wegge, from Old English wecg; akin to Old High German wecki wedge, Lithuanian vagis
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Share