sledge1

[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 object), verb (used without object), sledged, sledging.
4.
to convey or travel by sledge.
verb (used without object), sledged, sledging.
5.
British. to sleigh.
Origin
1595-1605; < dialectal Dutch sleeds, derivative of slede sled; cf. sleigh

sledge2

[slej] /slɛdʒ/
noun, verb (used with object), verb (used without object), sledged, sledging.
1.
sledgehammer (defs 1, 2).
Origin
before 1000; Middle English slegge, Old English slecg; cognate with Dutch slegge, Old Norse sleggja; akin to slay
Examples from the web for sledge
  • However, eradicating mosquitoes to solve these diseases is akin to having a surgeon use a sledge hammer to remove a brain tumor.
  • Most of those old tubs were broken up with sledge hammers or tossed out second-story windows during remodeling.
  • Over time, new link to the hammer image might modify the target image from a carpenter's hammer to a sledge hammer.
  • People may have then used a wooden sledge to move pillars from the quarry to the construction site.
  • He drove with a hammer in each hand, nine pound sledge.
  • sledge thanked everyone for recognizing him with these awards.
British Dictionary definitions for sledge

sledge1

/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.
(NZ) a farm vehicle mounted on runners, for use on rough or muddy ground
verb
4.
to convey, travel, or go by sledge
Derived Forms
sledger, noun
Word Origin
C17: from Middle Dutch sleedse; C14 sled, from Middle Low German, from Old Norse slethi, related to slide

sledge2

/slɛdʒ/
noun
1.
short for sledgehammer

sledge3

/slɛdʒ/
verb
1.
(transitive) to bait (an opponent, esp a batsman in cricket) in order to upset his concentration
noun
2.
an insult aimed at another player during a game of cricket
Word Origin
of uncertain origin; perhaps from sledgehammer
Word Origin and History for sledge
n.

"heavy hammer," Old English slecg "hammer, mallet," from Proto-Germanic *slagjo- (cf. Old Norse sleggja, Middle Swedish sleggia "sledgehammer"), related to slege "beating, blow, stroke" and slean "to strike" (see slay (v.)). Sledgehammer is pleonastic.

"sleigh," 1610s, from dialectal Dutch sleedse, variant of slede (see sled (n.)); said by OED to be perhaps of Frisian origin.

Encyclopedia Article for sledge

any freight- or passenger-carrying device that is dragged or pushed without the aid of wheels. The travois of the North American Indian was a sledge consisting of two transversely connected wooden shafts dragged at an angle to the ground. Sledges date back to antiquity; Assyrian and Egyptian reliefs depict huge statues being pulled by sledge. The arrival of the wheel and axle ended the use of the sledge except in its snow-and-ice surface form of sled-a body mounted on runners. See also litter

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