kludge
/klʌd͡ʒ/noun, verb
kludge is spelled K-L-U-D-G-E: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 152,206th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kludge means “An improvised device, typically crudely constructed to test the validity of a principle before implementing a finished design” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kludge is kludges.
How many letters and syllables are in kludge?
| Letters | 6: K-L-U-D-G-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 25 million words; the 152,206th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is kludge?
Kludge appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 152,206th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce kludge?
- /klʌd͡ʒ/
- /kluːd͡ʒ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-kludge.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of kludge
- kludges plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- cludge
- kluge
- kludging participle, present
- kludged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kludge mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
informalAn improvised device, typically crudely constructed to test the validity of a principle before implementing a finished design.
- 2
informalAny construction or practice, typically crude yet effective, designed to solve a problem temporarily or expediently.
- 3
informalAn amalgamated mass of unrelated parts.
- 4
informalA badly written or makeshift piece of software; a hack.
verb
- 1
informalTo build or use a kludge.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kludge in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense construction designed to solve a problem temporarily:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | expédient |
| German | Behelfslösung, Hack, Kniff |
| Portuguese | gambiarra |
| Spanish | truco, chapuza, ñapa |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does kludge come from?
Perhaps from British military slang, possibly based on Scots word kludge or kludgie (“common toilet”), or perhaps from German klug (“clever”). Alternatively, possibly related to Polish klucz (“key, clue, main point”) and Russian ключ (ključ, “key, clue”). Alternatively, perhaps from (a form related to) Germanic words such as Dutch Low Saxon klütje (“(little) dumpling, clod”), Dutch kluit(je) or Jutland Danish klyt (“piece of bad workmanship, klud(g)e”); compare and standard Danish kludder (“mess, disorder”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).