barge
/ˈbɑɹd͡ʒ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.50 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A large flat-bottomed towed or self-propelled boat used mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods or bulk cargo.
noun
A richly decorated ceremonial state vessel propelled by rowers for river processions.
noun
A large flat-bottomed coastal trading vessel having a large spritsail and jib-headed topsail, a fore staysail and a very small mizen, and having leeboards instead of a keel.
verb
To intrude or break through, particularly in an unwelcome or clumsy manner.
Example Sentences
- "Not far from the station can be seen one of the old barges of the Nar Navigation Company which has become so much a part of the bank it has a tree growing in it."
- "I mean I couldn't sit there on that desk for the rest of my life, and besides, I was afraid my parents might barge in on me all of a sudden and I wanted to at least say hello to her before they did."
- "In making this extension, the Metropolitan also built a connection from Farringdon Street towards an overground railway that had just barged its way into the City from Kent. This railway was the London, Chatham & Dover."
- "The home side were professionally going about their business and were denied a spot-kick when Dunne clumsily barged Nani off the ball."
Etymology
From Middle English barge, borrowed from Old French barge (“boat”), from Vulgar Latin *barga, a variant of Late Latin barca, a regular syncope of Vulgar Latin *barica, from Classical Latin bāris, from Ancient Greek βᾶρις (bâris, “Egyptian boat”), from Coptic ⲃⲁⲁⲣⲉ (baare, “small boat”), from Demotic Egyptian br, from Egyptian bꜣjrb-bA-A-y:r*Z1-P1 (“transport ship”). Doublet of bark, barque and baris.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbɑɹd͡ʒ/
- British English: /ˈbɑːd͡ʒ/
Usage
- American usage
- Dated
- Transitive verb