: 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
On the 5th hole, a 110-yard Par 3, Shipley spun a wedge shot past the pin and watched the ball roll back into the hole, the first ever ace since the league launched last year.—Mike Darnay, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026 For spring 2026, Chamberlain returns to debut new warm-weather classifications of the Vinnie Sculptural collection, including an 85-mm wedge slide, a 50-mm wedge thong slide and an 85-mm wraparound thong sandal, as well as new colors of the brand’s 50-mm slingback.—Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 10 Feb. 2026
Verb
The California Highway Patrol closed one lane of the southbound I-15 Freeway near Eastvale after a dump truck wedged its trailer into an overpass.—Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026 The liveliest glimpses of life seemed wedged between the old, unreconstructed city and the shinier, up-and-coming version.—John Bowe, Travel + Leisure, 1 Feb. 2026 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