: 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
When Zendesk launched Zendesk Sell in 2018 – an acquisition of Base CRM – the company spent years trying to wedge it into a Salesforce competitor before sunsetting it in 2023.—Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025 One of the beer cans was allegedly observed wedged between the passenger side rear of the vehicle and the tree at the scene.—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 8 June 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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