Barge Meaning
/ˈbɑːd͡ʒ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA large flat-bottomed towed or self-propelled boat used mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods or bulk cargo.
nounA richly decorated ceremonial state vessel propelled by rowers for river processions.
Sentence Examples
You can't just barge in here whenever you feel like it.
I'm sorry to barge in like this.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The heavy ____ slowly carried coal down the narrow canal toward the factory.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A large ____ carrying heavy coal was moving slowly down the long river.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English barge, borrowed from Old French barge (“boat”), from Vulgar Latin *barga, a variant of Late Latin barca, a regular syncope of Vulgar Latin *barica, from Classical Latin bāris, from Ancient Greek βᾶρις (bâris, “Egyptian boat”), from Coptic ⲃⲁⲁⲣⲉ (baare, “small boat”), from Demotic Egyptian br, from Egyptian bꜣjrb-bA-A-y:r*Z1-P1 (“transport ship”). Doublet of bark, barque and baris.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Not far from the station can be seen one of the old barges of the Nar Navigation Company which has become so much a part of the bank it has a tree growing in it."
— 1958 June 26, Donald L. Gordon, “The Lynn & Dereham Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 396:
"I mean I couldn't sit there on that desk for the rest of my life, and besides, I was afraid my parents might barge in on me all of a sudden and I wanted to at least say hello to her before they did."
— 1951 July 16, J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 209:
"In making this extension, the Metropolitan also built a connection from Farringdon Street towards an overground railway that had just barged its way into the City from Kent. This railway was the London, Chatham & Dover."
— 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 52:
"The home side were professionally going about their business and were denied a spot-kick when Dunne clumsily barged Nani off the ball."
— 2011 February 1, Mandeep Sanghera, “Man Utd 3 - 1 Aston Villa”, in BBC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The heavy ____ slowly carried coal down the narrow canal toward the factory.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A large ____ carrying heavy coal was moving slowly down the long river.