barge

[ bahrj ]

/ bɑrdʒ /

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See synonyms for: barge / barged / barging 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.

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Origin of barge

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH barge

barge , boat, canoe, cruise ship, sailboat, ship, yacht

Words nearby barge

bargaining chip, bargaining level, bargaining scope, bargaining unit, bargain on, barge, bargeboard, barge couple, barge course, bargee, barge in

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use barge in a sentence

The initial models have been small, but the concept calls for much larger barges floating in the Chesapeake in the years ahead, which experts say could have a big effect on the aquaculture industry.
Solar-powered barge could take oyster farming deeper into Chesapeake|Christine Condon|January 11, 2021|Washington Post
That’s why tubers, kayakers, and canoeists stop at this river barge, just north of Trenton, that serves hot dogs and burgers to those drifting by.
Your New Adventure Travel Bucket List|The Editors|December 21, 2020|Outside Online
The contractor could use barges in the river, rather than more of the island, to store construction materials and equipment, Brookman said.
Biologists say a wider American Legion Bridge would destroy critical research site|Katherine Shaver|December 11, 2020|Washington Post
Using construction cranes and barges, workers removed the old draw section and its rusted machinery, and replaced it with a new non-opening segment.
Arlington Memorial Bridge reopens after two-year rehabilitation|Michael Ruane|December 4, 2020|Washington Post

Choices range from speedy, lightweight e-commuters to ponderous kid-hauling land barges called cargo bikes.
Do You Want to Buy an E-Cargo Bike? Read This First.|Joe Lindsey|August 30, 2020|Outside Online
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|DAILY BEAST
His shirt was torn, one of his worn sneakers was more like a rubber-soled barge—the SS Nike.
Uncovering the Secrets of St. Kitts|Debra A. Klein|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When they moved back to London, the only accommodation they could afford was a freezing, leaky barge on the Thames.
Penelope Fitzgerald Was as Brilliant and Mysterious as Her Own Fiction|Edward Platt|April 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At last, two peasants barge into the scene, with spades and threshers on their backs.
Read This and Blush: Naughty Medieval French Tales|Yunte Huang|June 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Because without them, and the things they make, the world would be a garbage barge.
Constructive Criticism: Reviewing the Idea of Reviewing|Ben Greenman|May 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
From this child's arm matter was taken and transferred to that of J. Barge, a boy of seven years old.
An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae|Edward Jenner
One day, Kari and Kopee and I went to the river bank to help pull a big barge up the river.
Kari the Elephant|Dhan Gopal Mukerji
The rope almost broke and the barge swayed in the water, almost toppled, and then drifted to its previous position.
Kari the Elephant|Dhan Gopal Mukerji
After he had pulled the barge about two hundred yards he stopped; the rope slackened and then the current pulled against us.
Kari the Elephant|Dhan Gopal Mukerji
That done we went to the Globe and there had a good dinner, and by and by took barge again and so home.
Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete|Samuel Pepys

British Dictionary definitions for barge

barge

/ (bɑːdʒ) /

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

barge

Origin of barge

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH barge

Words nearby barge

Words related to barge

How to use barge in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for barge

Word Origin for barge