sledge

¹

[ slej ]

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, sledg·ing.

1. to convey or travel by sledge.

verb (used without object)

, sledged, sledg·ing.

1. British. to sleigh.

sledge

²

[ slej ]

noun

, sledged, sledg·ing.

1. sledgehammer ( defs 1, 2 ).

sledge

¹

/ slɛdʒ /

verb

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

noun

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

sledge

²

/ slɛd; slɛdʒ /

noun

1. Also calledsleigh 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

verb

1. to convey, travel, or go by sledge

sledge

³

/ slɛdʒ /

noun

1. short for sledgehammer

Derived Forms

• ˈsledger, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sledge¹

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

Origin of sledge²

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sledge¹

of uncertain origin; perhaps from sledgehammer

Origin of sledge²

C17: from Middle Dutch sleedse; C14 sled, from Middle Low German, from Old Norse slethi, related to slide

Example Sentences

After opening his last show with George Harrison's track What Is Life, Walker then dedicated his second song, Sister Sledge's We Are Family, to his listeners.

From BBC

Carrying sledge hammers, scientists hiked to the impact site in South Africa to chisel off chunks of rock to understand the crash.

From BBC

Using sledge hammers, they collected hundreds of kilograms of rock and took them back to labs for analysis.

From BBC

Mr. Battle also choreographed ballets at the Baltimore School for the Arts as well as routines for the singers Anita Baker and Sister Sledge, and he worked with Ms. Allen, the dancer, on two Academy Awards shows.

From New York Times

There is hardly any snow at Asia’s largest ski terrain in Gulmarg where thousands of domestic and international tourists would usually visit to ski and sledge its stunning snowscape in winter.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• bobsled
• luge