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Synonyms

sledge

1 American  
[slej] / slɛdʒ /

noun

  1. a vehicle of various forms, mounted on runners and often drawn by draft animals, used for traveling or for conveying loads over snow, ice, rough ground, etc.

  2. a sled.

  3. British. a sleigh.

verb (used with or without object)

sledged, sledging

  1. to convey or travel by sledge.

verb (used without object)

sledged, sledging

  1. British. to sleigh.

sledge 2 American  
[slej] / slɛdʒ /

noun

sledged, sledging

  1. sledgehammer.

sledge 1 British  
/ slɛd, slɛdʒ /

noun

  1. Also called: sleigh.  a vehicle mounted on runners, drawn by horses or dogs, for transporting people or goods, esp over snow

  2. a light wooden frame used, esp by children, for sliding over snow; toboggan

  3. a farm vehicle mounted on runners, for use on rough or muddy ground

"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

verb

  1. to convey, travel, or go by sledge

"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
sledge 2 British  
/ slɛdʒ /

verb

  1. (tr) to bait (an opponent, esp a batsman in cricket) in order to upset his concentration

"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

noun

  1. an insult aimed at another player during a game of cricket

"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
sledge 3 British  
/ slɛdʒ /

noun

  1. short for sledgehammer

"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

Other Word Forms

  • sledger noun

Etymology

Origin of sledge1

1595–1605; < dialectal Dutch sleeds, derivative of slede sled; cf. sleigh

Origin of sledge2

before 1000; Middle English slegge, Old English slecg; cognate with Dutch slegge, Old Norse sleggja; akin to slay

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She made her Winter Paralympic debut in Innsbruck in 1988, winning five golds in cross-country and ice sledge speed skating.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

He later documented his journeys through India on elephant-back and across Siberia by sledge.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

"The sledge has got back. We heard the sad details. Jeff has badly bitten frostbitten hands. We are not taking any more risks to recover," the report reads the day after the accident.

From BBC • Aug. 11, 2025

At sea level, the oxygen molecules are driven into the lungs and into the blood with the force of a sledge hammer.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 2, 2023

He had gone right down feetfirst, and nothing kept the sledge from following him but my weight, which held the rear third of the runners still on solid ice.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.