barge

[ bahrj ]

/ bɑrdʒ /

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.

Nearby words

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

British Dictionary definitions for barge in

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

Word Origin and History for barge in (1 of 2)

barge

"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.

Word Origin and History for barge in (1 of 2)

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.

Idioms and Phrases with barge in

barge in

Enter rudely or abruptly, intrude. For example, Her mother never knocks but just barges in. The term is also put as barge into or barge in on to mean interrupt, as in Who asked you to barge into our conversation? These phrases use to barge in the sense of “bump into” or “knock against,” which may allude to the propensity of these clumsy vessels to collide with other craft. [Late 1800s]

barge

noun

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

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

Verb Phrases

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Origin of barge

British Dictionary definitions for barge in

barge

noun

verb

Word Origin for barge

Word Origin and History for barge in (1 of 2)

barge

Word Origin and History for barge in (1 of 2)

barge

Idioms and Phrases with barge in

barge in