wedge
    n 1: any shape that is triangular in cross section [syn:
         wedge, wedge shape, cuneus]
    2: a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise
       and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and
       lettuce and condiments); different names are used in
       different sections of the United States [syn: bomber,
       grinder, hero, hero sandwich, hoagie, hoagy, Cuban
       sandwich, Italian sandwich, poor boy, sub,
       submarine, submarine sandwich, torpedo, wedge, zep]
    3: a diacritical mark (an inverted circumflex) placed above
       certain letters (such as the letter c) to indicate
       pronunciation [syn: hacek, wedge]
    4: a heel that is an extension of the sole of the shoe [syn:
       wedge heel, wedge]
    5: (golf) an iron with considerable loft and a broad sole
    6: something solid that is usable as an inclined plane (shaped
       like a V) that can be pushed between two things to separate
       them
    7: a block of wood used to prevent the sliding or rolling of a
       heavy object [syn: chock, wedge]
    v 1: put, fix, force, or implant; "lodge a bullet in the table";
         "stick your thumb in the crack" [syn: lodge, wedge,
         stick, deposit] [ant: dislodge, free]
    2: squeeze like a wedge into a tight space; "I squeezed myself
       into the corner" [syn: wedge, squeeze, force]

Wedge \Wedge\ (w[e^]j), n. [OE. wegge, AS. wecg; akin to D. wig,
   wigge, OHG. wecki, G. weck a (wedge-shaped) loaf, Icel.
   veggr, Dan. v[ae]gge, Sw. vigg, and probably to Lith. vagis a
   peg. Cf. Wigg.]
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   1. A piece of metal, or other hard material, thick at one
      end, and tapering to a thin edge at the other, used in
      splitting wood, rocks, etc., in raising heavy bodies, and
      the like. It is one of the six elementary machines called
      the mechanical powers. See Illust. of Mechanical powers,
      under Mechanical.
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   2. (Geom.) A solid of five sides, having a rectangular base,
      two rectangular or trapezoidal sides meeting in an edge,
      and two triangular ends.
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   3. A mass of metal, especially when of a wedgelike form.
      "Wedges of gold." --Shak.
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   4. Anything in the form of a wedge, as a body of troops drawn
      up in such a form.
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            In warlike muster they appear,
            In rhombs, and wedges, and half-moons, and wings.
                                                  --Milton.
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   5. The person whose name stands lowest on the list of the
      classical tripos; -- so called after a person (Wedgewood)
      who occupied this position on the first list of 1828.
      [Cant, Cambridge Univ., Eng.] --C. A. Bristed.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. (Golf) A golf club having an iron head with the face
      nearly horizontal, used for lofting the golf ball at a
      high angle, as when hitting the ball out of a sand trap or
      the rough.
      [PJC]

   Fox wedge. (Mach. & Carpentry) See under Fox.

   Spherical wedge (Geom.), the portion of a sphere included
      between two planes which intersect in a diameter.
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Wedge \Wedge\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wedged; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Wedging.]
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   1. To cleave or separate with a wedge or wedges, or as with a
      wedge; to rive. "My heart, as wedged with a sigh, would
      rive in twain." --Shak.
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   2. To force or drive as a wedge is driven.
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            Among the crowd in the abbey where a finger
            Could not be wedged in more.          --Shak.
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            He 's just the sort of man to wedge himself into a
            snug berth.                           --Mrs. J. H.
                                                  Ewing.
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   3. To force by crowding and pushing as a wedge does; as, to
      wedge one's way. --Milton.
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   4. To press closely; to fix, or make fast, in the manner of a
      wedge that is driven into something.
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            Wedged in the rocky shoals, and sticking fast.
                                                  --Dryden.
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   5. To fasten with a wedge, or with wedges; as, to wedge a
      scythe on the snath; to wedge a rail or a piece of timber
      in its place.
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   6. (Pottery) To cut, as clay, into wedgelike masses, and work
      by dashing together, in order to expel air bubbles, etc.
      --Tomlinson.
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