wedge
noun · verb
Simple meaning
One of the simple machines.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
wehjIPA pronunciation (US)
wɛdʒ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
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.
“Stick a wedge under the door, will you? It keeps blowing shut.”
A piece (of food, metal, wood etc.) having this shape.
“Can you cut me a wedge of cheese?”
Something that creates a division, gap or distance between things.
One of a pair of wedge-heeled shoes.
A quantity of money.
UKCambridge University slang
The person whose name stands lowest on the list of the classical tripos.
verb
To work wet clay by cutting or kneading for the purpose of homogenizing the mass and expelling air bubbles.
To support or secure using a wedge.
“I wedged open the window with a screwdriver.”
To cleave with a wedge.
To force or drive with a wedge.
To shape into a wedge.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: 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.
Used this way, wedge is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Stick a wedge under the door, will you? It keeps blowing shut.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Simplenoun
“Stick a wedge under the door, will you? It keeps blowing shut.”
Supportverb
“I wedged open the window with a screwdriver.”
More ways to use wedge
- “He used a wooden wedge to keep the door open.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Shaped like a wedge.
Any shape that is triangular in cross section.
Part of the sirloin nearest the rump.
A heel that is an extension of the sole of the shoe.
A wedge used to get out of sand traps.
A wedge used to loft the golf ball over obstacles.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA 3.0). Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.