barge

1 of 2

noun

: any of various boats: such as
a
: a roomy usually flat-bottomed boat used chiefly for the transport of goods on inland waterways and usually propelled by towing
b
: a large motorboat supplied to the flag officer of a flagship
c
: a roomy pleasure boat
especially : a boat of state elegantly furnished and decorated

barge

2 of 2

verb

barged; barging

transitive verb

: to carry by barge

intransitive verb

1
: to move ponderously or clumsily
2
: to thrust oneself heedlessly or unceremoniously
barged into the meeting

Examples of barge in a Sentence

Verb He came rushing down the stairs, barging into the crowd of people at the bottom. She barged through the door without even knocking.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The first ship, the Open Arms, which towed a barge to a makeshift jetty off Gaza on Friday, brought the territory the equivalent of about 10 truckloads of food — far less than the 500 trucks a day aid groups say are needed. David Segal, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024 To prevent Gazans from getting on board — a prospect that aid workers fear would invite Israeli military action — the group has suggested that the the ship could tow a barge loaded with food pallets and then push it to shore. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 The barges will travel nearly four miles over the course of the ceremony, beginning near the Austerlitz bridge in the eastern part of downtown Paris and ending to the west, near the Trocadéro. Tom Schad, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024 No bridge crossed the Ohio River yet, so barges were strapped together for a makeshift pontoon bridge to reach Kentucky. Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 28 Jan. 2024 For instance, efforts to transport juvenile migratory fish via barges began in the Columbia River as early as the 1950s, said Toby Kock, a USGS Research Fish Biologist. Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 11 Jan. 2024 The barge then heads north and anchors offshore from the delivery site to pump the material ashore. Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2024 Restaurants in old converted barges would be installed along the Seine’s new boardwalk. Catherine Porter, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024 In December, local fears were confirmed when a barge razed sections of coral on its way to the construction site on the reef. Daniel Cole, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Feb. 2024
Verb
Collier barged into the paint with reckless abandon and fired out to shooters. Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 19 Jan. 2024 Right on cue, a bodybuilding drifter named Jackie (Katy O’Brian) barges into Lou’s life. Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 The video shows Jay standing in the middle of his family room, facing away from where the officer had just barged in. Katie Mettler, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 After five minutes or so, the bull is lassoed and led out of the ring, and the next animal barges out of the metal doors. Toby Muse, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024 But to have 50,000 gallons of water barged in and pumped into the tank would’ve cost about five grand. Sacramento Bee, 30 Jan. 2024 Seven years after barging into Los Angeles amid a cacophony of catcalls, the Chargers finally figured out how to quiet the doubters, capture the buzz and take a significant bite out of the market. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2024 After students at a film school in Pune promoted the documentary screening, a group of more than 20 men barged onto campus on Tuesday, scuffled with students and set their posters aflame. Anant Gupta, Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2024 The news of hooded gunmen barging into a live television show and taking hostages in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city and chief port, reverberated around the world Tuesday. Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'barge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin barca

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1649, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of barge was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near barge

Cite this Entry

“Barge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barge. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

barge

1 of 2 noun
: a broad flat-bottomed boat that is usually towed and used chiefly to transport goods in harbors and on rivers and canals

barge

2 of 2 verb
barged; barging
1
: to carry by barge
2
: to move or push oneself clumsily or rudely
barged right in

More from Merriam-Webster on barge

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