barge

American  

[bahrj] / bɑrdʒ /

noun

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)

barged, barging

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)

barged, barging

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

Etymology

Origin of barge

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

Example Sentences

He works as a deck hand, helping to load coal onto river barges.

From The Wall Street Journal

Hansen's second and third tries came either side of Australia's opener, scored by returning centre Ikitau, who made a spell of sustained Wallaby pressure count when he barged past Prendergast under the posts.

From BBC

Roughly 10 minutes into the flight Blue Origin landed the booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, an operation it wasn’t able to complete during the rocket’s inaugural launch earlier this year.

From The Wall Street Journal

When Blue Origin first tested New Glenn, it was able to reach orbit but failed to land its booster on a floating barge in the Atlantic Ocean.

From MarketWatch

Elton’s motivations don’t make sense, but at least Cera barges into the movie with so much energy that his sequence is a hoot.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• raft