|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
wedge
wedge / wej/ • n. a piece of wood, metal, or some other material having one thick end and tapering to a thin edge, that is driven between two objects or parts of an object to secure or separate them. ∎ an object or piece of something having such a shape: a wedge of cheese. ∎ a formation of people or animals with such a shape. ∎ a golf club with a low, angled face for maximum loft. ∎ a shot made with such a club. ∎ a shoe, typically having a fairly high heel, of which the heel and sole form a solid block, with no gap under the instep. ∎ a heel of this kind. ∎ Mus. another term for dash. • v. 1. [tr.] fix in position using a wedge: [tr.] the door was wedged open. 2. [tr.] force into a narrow space: I wedged the bags into the back seat. PHRASES: drive a wedge between separate: the general aimed to drive a wedge between the city and its northern defenses. ∎ cause disagreement or hostility between: I'm not trying to drive a wedge between you and your father. thin end of the wedge inf. an action or procedure of little importance in itself, but likely to lead to more serious developments. |
|
|
Cite this article
"wedge." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "wedge." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-wedge.html "wedge." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-wedge.html |
|
wedge
wedge piece of wood or metal thick at one end and sloping to a thin edge at the other; an application of the inclined plane . It is employed in separating two objects from each other or in separating one part of a solid object from an adjoining part, as in splitting wood. The thin edge is applied to the surface of the solid or to the crack between two solids, and force is applied to the opposite thick edge. The ax, chisel, knife, nail, and carpenter's plane are wedges, and the cam is a rotating wedge. |
|
|
Cite this article
"wedge." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "wedge." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-wedge.html "wedge." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-wedge.html |
|
wedge
wedge drive a wedge between separate.
wedge issue in the US, a divisive political issue, especially one that is raised by a candidate for public office in the hope of attracting or alienating an opponent's supporters. the thin end of the wedge an action or procedure of little importance that is likely to lead to more serious developments. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wedge." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wedge." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-wedge.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wedge." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-wedge.html |
|
Wedge
Wedgeanything in the form of a wedge, e.g., a body of troops; a group of animals or birds; silver plate collectively, 1725. Examples: wedge of cheese, 1835; of wild fowl, 1869; of clangorous geese, 1889; of wild geese, 1725; of horse, 1615; of men, 1614; of policemen, 1887; of standing people, 1913; of swans; of troops. |
|
|
Cite this article
"Wedge." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Wedge." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301719.html "Wedge." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301719.html |
|
wedge
wedge In mechanics, an example of the inclined plane. It is used to multiply an applied force while changing its direction of action. For example, if a metal or wooden wedge is driven into a block of wood then a force is exerted by the wedge at right angles to the applied force and greater than it.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"wedge." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "wedge." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-wedge.html "wedge." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-wedge.html |
|
wedge
wedge piece of wood, etc. thick at one end and tapering to a thin edge at the other; †ingot OE.; other special senses from XVI. OE. weċġ = OS. weggi (Du. wegge wedge-shaped cake), OHG. weggi, wecki, ON. veggr :- Gmc. *waʒjaz.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "wedge." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "wedge." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wedge.html T. F. HOAD. "wedge." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wedge.html |
|
wedge
wedge See RIDGE.
|
|
|
Cite this article
AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "wedge." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "wedge." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-wedge.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "wedge." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-wedge.html |
|
wedge
wedge
•allege, dredge, edge, fledge, hedge, kedge, ledge, pledge, reg, sedge, sledge, veg, wedge
•straight edge
|
|
|
Cite this article
"wedge." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "wedge." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-wedge.html "wedge." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-wedge.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
