: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Slice the pumpkin into small wedges.—Cody Godwin, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025 About 1 foot from the shoot tip, make a 1 to 2 inch incision along the stem and through a bud to create a wedge; prop the wedge open with a sliver of wood such as a toothpick.—Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
Vaquitas, found only in a 4,000-square-kilometer area of the upper Gulf of California, wedged between Baja California and the Mexican mainland, have been dwindling since a 1997 high of 567 individuals; computer models indicate the population may have decreased by 80 percent between 2011 and 2015.—Ryan Green, Scientific American, 6 Nov. 2025 Eggers' stunning visuals and meticulous pace draw viewers into their increasingly desperate mania, gradually wedging open the door between rational interpretation and supernatural inescapability.—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 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
Share