wedge
/wɛd͡ʒ/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.62 in modern English
Meaning
noun
One of the simple machines; a piece of material, such as metal or wood, thick at one edge and tapered to a thin edge at the other for insertion in a narrow crevice, used for splitting, tightening, securing, or levering.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
One of the simple machines; a piece of material, such as metal or wood, thick at one edge and tapered to a thin edge at the other for insertion in a narrow crevice, used for splitting, tightening, securing, or levering.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
One of the simple machines; a piece of material, such as metal or wood, thick at one edge and tapered to a thin edge at the other for insertion in a narrow crevice, used for splitting, tightening, securing, or levering.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Stick a wedge under the door, will you? It keeps blowing shut."
- "Can you cut me a wedge of cheese?"
- "We ordered a box of baked potato wedges with our pizza, and an iceberg wedge as our side salad."
- "Near-synonyms: wedge issue, salami tactics, culture wars"
- "drive a wedge between [persons, peoples, camps, allies, etc.]"
- "It is one of the ironies of capital cities that each acts as a symbol of its nation, and yet few are even remotely representative of it. London has always set itself apart from the rest of Britain — but political, economic and social trends are conspiring to drive that wedge deeper."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *weǵʰ-, wegge, weċġ, *wagi, *wagjaz
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /wɛd͡ʒ/
- British English: /wɛd͡ʒ/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- American usage
- Obsolete
- Slang
- British usage
- Colloquial
- Archaic