barge

American  

[bahrj] / bɑrdʒ /

noun

• barges
  plural

1. a capacious, flat-bottomed vessel, usually intended to be pushed or towed, for transporting freight or passengers; lighter.

2. a vessel of state used in pageants.

   elegantly decorated barges on the Grand Canal in Venice.

3. Navy. a boat reserved for a flag officer.

4. a boat that is heavier and wider than a shell, often used in racing as a training boat.

5. New England (chiefly Older Use). a large, horse-drawn coach or, sometimes, a bus.

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verb (used without object)

• barges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• barged,
  past participle,  past
• barging
  present participle

1. to move clumsily; bump into things; collide.

   to barge through a crowd.

2. to move in the slow, heavy manner of a barge.

verb (used with object)

• barges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• barged,
  past participle,  past
• barging
  present participle

1. to carry or transport by barge.

   Coal and ore had been barged down the Ohio to the Mississippi.

verb phrase

1. barge into

   1. Also barge in on. to force oneself upon, especially rudely; interfere in.

      to barge into a conversation.

   2. to bump into; collide with.

      He started to run away and barged into a passer-by.

2. barge in to intrude, especially rudely.

   I hated to barge in without an invitation.

barge British  

/ bɑːdʒ /

noun

1. a vessel, usually flat-bottomed and with or without its own power, used for transporting freight, esp on canals

2. a vessel, often decorated, used in pageants, for state occasions, etc

3. navy a boat allocated to a flag officer, used esp for ceremonial occasions and often carried on board his flagship

4. humorous any vessel, esp an old or clumsy one

5. informal a heavy or cumbersome surfboard

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verb

1. informal to bump (into)

2. informal (tr) to push (someone or one's way) violently

3. informal (intr; foll by into or in) to interrupt rudely or clumsily

   to barge into a conversation

4. (tr) sailing to bear down on (another boat or boats) at the start of a race

5. (tr) to transport by barge

6. informal (intr) to move slowly or clumsily

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• barges
  plural

Participles

• barging
  present
• barged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• barge
  simple
• barges
  simple
• have barged
  perfect
• has barged
  perfect
• am barging
  progressive
• are barging
  progressive
• is barging
  progressive
• have been barging
  perfect progressive
• has been barging
  perfect progressive

Past

• barged
  simple
• had barged
  perfect
• was barging
  progressive
• were barging
  progressive
• had been barging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will barge
  simple
• will have barged
  perfect
• will be barging
  progressive
• will have been barging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of barge

1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French, perhaps < Latin *bārica; see bark ³

Explanation

A barge is a big, flat boat that can transport heavy goods over water. You might see a barge carrying a load of new cars down a river. Barges are useful for moving very heavy things along canals and rivers. A typical barge can hold more than a thousand tons of cargo, so it's ideal for bulky, weighty goods. Barge is also a verb, meaning both "move by barge" and "shove forward," as when you barge in the door of a crowded party or barge into your brother's room just to bother him. The root is believed to be the Greek baris, "Egyptian boat."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

barge barges barged barging

Green has his braggadocious billionaire Foghorn barge into scenes like the second-coming of John Goodman, although it’s probably more accurate to guess that Goodman was inspired by him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

The ships are being constructed in blocks which will be taken to Belfast by barge for final assembly.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

The last barge to unload sets the price until the next delivery—months away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Because there are no deep-water ports on the coast, the tanker offloads a portion of the fuel onto a smaller barge about 80 miles west, a process called “lightering.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

What he did see while his head was lowered was a long black barge slipping under the bridge in the direction of Furnes in Belgium.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

It envisions putting the reactors on floating barges, which could be anchored miles offshore.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

America’s second largest port and its partner are trying to tap into the energy that powers nuclear submarines and build power plants on barges.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Earlier this week, authorities tried to increase the water flow to the plant - which uses the Danube for cooling - by sinking barges loaded with rocks in the river.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Two 80-metre barges are also being stationed at Paks that could be sunk to raise the water level.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

He got me a man’s job unloadin’ freight barges that come down the Yazoo.

From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe

Before further questions could be asked, a federal agent barged in and said Bušić had to appear before a federal judge.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Lawrence barged through three Saracens defenders for Bath's fourth try, but Caluori crossed within a couple of minutes when he cut in from the right to give Burke a slightly easier conversion, which he added.

From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026

I was sitting in the chair in mid-shave when a bald gentleman barged into the shop searching not for a cut, but a promise.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 2026

As the journalists interacted with the migrants, uniformed police barged in and detained the lawyer and four journalists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

Charlie and his girlfriend, Zooey Hawthorne, barged into the kitchen, carrying grocery bags, oblivious to the tension that clung to the walls like splattered grease.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

And he needed all of his snarl and bite to survive the three laps of jostling, barging and bumping that followed.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Another reveals that Sidney has security cameras linked to her phone, yet she forgets about them to go barging into her dark house.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

"It should never have happened like this, whatever the reason," he said, likening the US attack to "someone barging into your house."

From Barron's ● Jan. 6, 2026

Videos on social media showed swarms of consumers barging into stores, frantically grabbing as many bags as possible.

From Salon ● May 11, 2025

They took to my barging without any offence, making room for me like a good-natured crowd.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

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