: 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.
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Noun
The low wedges have even garnered more than 13,000 five-star ratings from shoppers so far.—Izzy Baskette, People.com, 7 June 2025 The issue has formed a major wedge between Washington and Jerusalem.—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 30 May 2025
Verb
The giants don’t need your money A new campaign is encouraging visitors to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland to stop wedging coins between the stones.—Jade Walker, CNN Money, 29 May 2025 Nearby, a yellow newspaper vending box was wedged between a white Chrysler and a parking meter.—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 10 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for wedge
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
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