barge

[bahrj]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR barge ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

a vessel of state used in pageants: elegantly decorated barges on the Grand Canal in Venice.

Navy. a boat reserved for a flag officer.

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

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

verb (used without object), barged, barg·ing.

to move clumsily; bump into things; collide: to barge through a crowd.

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

verb (used with object), barged, barg·ing.

to carry or transport by barge: Coal and ore had been barged down the Ohio to the Mississippi.

Verb Phrases

barge in, to intrude, especially rudely: I hated to barge in without an invitation.

barge into,

Also barge in on.to force oneself upon, especially rudely; interfere in: to barge into a conversation.
to bump into; collide with: He started to run away and barged into a passer-by.

Origin of barge

1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French, perhaps < Latin *bārica; see bark³

Can be confusedbarge boat canoe cruise ship sailboat ship yacht

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for barge

raft, ark, scow, dory, lighter, flatboat

Examples from the Web for barge

Contemporary Examples of barge

I wandered around aimlessly for a while, then gave the goose to an acquiescent hippy on a barge.
The Life and Art of Radical Provocateur—and Commune Leader—Otto Muehl
Anthony Haden-Guest
September 22, 2014
The offices are on a barge that has floated in the river since 1976, but which is on dry land today.
Climate Change Hits the Mississippi River
David Frum
January 18, 2013
She had no need for magic arts and charms given her barge with gilded stern and soaring purple sails.
All Hail Cleopatra!
Michael Korda
November 5, 2010
When in doubt, barge into the meeting, argue, then call him out on sleeping in his office.
Eulogy for Don Draper's Secretary
The Daily Beast Video
September 20, 2010

Historical Examples of barge

By the time we reach Valence, soon after mid-day, we have passed one barge only.
The Roof of France
Matilda Betham-Edwards
Make haste, then, or we shall have to wait till the barge has gone by.
The Channings
Mrs. Henry Wood
I never did see anybody as busy as you get, Alice, when you're towin' a barge.
Alice Adams
Booth Tarkington
Children by the dozen were making friends from barge to barge.
The Harbor
Ernest Poole
The barge is coming off, Mr. Hardy, with the pennant flying, sir!
Captain Brand of the "Centipede"
H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise

British Dictionary definitions for barge

barge

noun

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

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

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

jocular, derogatory any vessel, esp an old or clumsy one

Australian informal a heavy or cumbersome surfboard

verb

(intr foll by into) informal to bump (into)

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

(intr; foll by into or in) informal to interrupt rudely or clumsilyto barge into a conversation

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

(tr) to transport by barge

(intr) informal to move slowly or clumsily

Word Origin for barge

C13: from Old French, from Medieval Latin barga, probably from Late Latin barca a small boat; see barque

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for barge

c.1300, "small seagoing vessel with sails," from Old French barge, Old Provençal barca, from Medieval Latin barga, perhaps from Celtic, or perhaps from Latin *barica, from Greek baris "Egyptian boat," from Coptic bari "small boat." Meaning "flat-bottomed freight boat" dates from late 15c.

"to journey by barge," 1590s, from barge (n.). The form barge into and the sense "crash heavily into," in reference to the rough handling of barges, dates from 1830s, American English. Related: Barged; barging.