# sledge

> English word · Noun · IPA /slɛd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #26,603

## Definitions
1. A heavy, long handled maul or hammer used to drive stakes, wedges, etc.

## Etymology
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”), German Schlägel.

## Easily confused with
- **slide** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sledge-vs-slide)
- **suede** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sledge-vs-suede)
- **swede** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sledge-vs-swede)
- **sleeve** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sledge-vs-sleeve)
- **sludge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sledge-vs-sludge)
- **sleigh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sledge-vs-sleigh)
- **smudge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sledge-vs-smudge)
- **sled** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sled-vs-sledge)
- **siege** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/siege-vs-sledge)
- **slade** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slade-vs-sledge)
- **serge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serge-vs-sledge)
- **sleaze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sleaze-vs-sledge)

## Common misspellings (9)
`lsedge`, `seldge`, `sldege`, `sleddge`, `sledeg`, `sledgge`, `slegde`, `slledge`, `ssledge`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sledge