# wedge

> English word · Noun · IPA /wɛd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #12,715

## Definitions
1. 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.
2. A piece (of food, metal, wood etc.) having this shape.
3. Something that creates a division, gap or distance between things.
4. A five-sided polyhedron with a rectangular base, two rectangular or trapezoidal sides meeting in an edge, and two triangular ends.
5. A voussoir, one of the wedge-shaped blocks forming an arch or vault.
6. A flank of cavalry acting to split some portion of an opposing army, charging in an inverted V formation.
7. A group of geese, swans, or other birds when they are in flight in a V formation.
8. A type of iron club used for short, high trajectories.
9. One of a pair of wedge-heeled shoes.
10. An ingot.
11. Silver or items made of silver collectively.
12. A quantity of money.
13. A sandwich made on a long, cylindrical roll.
14. One of the basic elements that make up cuneiform writing, a single triangular impression made with the corner of a reed stylus.
15. Any symbol shaped like a V in some given orientation.
16. Any symbol shaped like a V in some given orientation.
17. Any symbol shaped like a V in some given orientation.
18. Any symbol shaped like a V in some given orientation.
19. A barometric ridge; an elongated region of high atmospheric pressure between two low-pressure areas.
20. A wedge tornado.
21. A market trend characterized by a contracting range in prices coupled with an upward trend in prices (a rising wedge) or a downward trend in prices (a falling wedge).

## Etymology
From Middle English wegge (“wedge”), from Old English weċġ (“wedge”), from Proto-West Germanic *wagi, from Proto-Germanic *wagjaz.

## Easily confused with
- **wee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wedge-vs-wee)
- **were** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wedge-vs-were)
- **wide** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wedge-vs-wide)
- **weigh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wedge-vs-weigh)
- **wedges** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wedge-vs-wedges)
- **widget** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wedge-vs-widget)
- **wedged** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wedge-vs-wedged)
- **wed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wed-vs-wedge)
- **wage** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wage-vs-wedge)
- **wade** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wade-vs-wedge)
- **we're** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-re-vs-wedge)
- **we've** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-ve-vs-wedge)
- **weave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weave-vs-wedge)
- **wedded** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wedded-vs-wedge)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ewdge`, `wdege`, `weddge`, `wedeg`, `wedgge`, `wegde`, `wwedge`

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