sledge
/slɛd͡ʒ/noun, verb
sledge is spelled S-L-E-D-G-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sledge means “A sledgehammer” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sledge is sledges.
How many letters and syllables are in sledge?
| Letters | 6: S-L-E-D-G-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,420th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sledge?
Sledge appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th 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 sledge?
- /slɛd͡ʒ/
Sledge has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-sledge.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sledge
- sledges plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sledging participle, present
- sledged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sledge mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A sledgehammer.
- 2
A low sled drawn by animals, typically on snow, ice or grass.
The sledge ran far better upon the ice; I cannot say the same for the dogs.
- 3
UKany type of sled or sleigh.
Ty'd upon the Sledge, a Papist and a Protestant in front, being two very disparate and antipathetick Companions, was a very ridiculous Science of Cruelty, even worst than Death it self (says he).
- 4
A card game resembling all fours and seven-up; old sledge.
- 5
AustraliaAn instance of sledging.
verb
- 1
To hit with a sledgehammer.
- 2
To drag or draw a sledge.
- 3
To ride, travel with or transport in a sledge.
- 4
AustraliaTo verbally insult or abuse an opponent in order to distract them (considered unsportsmanlike).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does sledge come from?
From Middle English slegge, from Old English sleċġ (“sledgehammer; mallet”), from Proto-Germanic *slagjǭ. Cognate with Dutch slegge (“sledge”), Swedish slägga (“sledge”), Norwegian Bokmål slegge (“sledge”), Norwegian Nynorsk sleggje (“sledge”), Icelandic sleggja (“sledge”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).