: 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
Beneath a cluster of tents, a pair of women worked a flattop grill and pulled craggy, battered chicken legs and bronzed wedges of potato from a deep fryer.—Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 28 July 2025 Take the case of Discovery Channel chasers Tim Samaras and crew in the infamous 2013 El Reno wedge twister.—Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
Verb
Most Lake Country residents have seen their fair share of shoreline shenanigans, but for Albert Cutler of Oconomowoc, a fish falling from the sky and landing perfectly wedged in the front of his truck was a first.—Liliana Fannin, jsonline.com, 29 July 2025 The hope was that this wedding might wedge Tony into permanent residency in the U.S., but by the time Richard applied for Tony’s spousal classification deportation proceedings were already in motion.—Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 26 July 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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