wedge

Everyday

1. A piece of wood, metal or other material that is thick at one end and thin at the other, used to hold something in place or split something. tree →
2. A piece shaped like this: a wedge of cheese or lemon. tree →
3. (verb) To push or squeeze something into a tight space so it stays there. tree →
4. (verb) To hold something in place with a wedge: wedge the door open. tree →

In the lessons

In science: a wedge is one of the simple machines, used in axes and knives to split things. In maths: a slice of a circle or cake can be a wedge. In everyday life: door wedges, potato wedges, getting stuck («wedged in»).

Examples

• Put a wedge under the door to keep it open. tree →
• An axe works like a wedge to split the log. tree →
• He cut a wedge of cheese for his sandwich. tree →
• My foot got wedged between two rocks. tree →
• We had potato wedges with dinner. tree →
• A cake cut into 8 equal wedges gives each piece one eighth. tree →
• Going into the large yard, he cut two oaken wedges, took a new wheel, and drove a wedge firmly into one end of its axle-box. tree →

Note

Countable. Verb is regular: wedged, wedging (drop the e). Science fact: a wedge is a simple machine that turns a push into a sideways force. In fractions, equal wedges of a round cake show 1/8, 1/4 and so on.

In Jewish tradition

In Sefer Yetzirah the "tongue," sometimes called a wedge, is the balancing point between two opposite sides.

Interpretation. The commentators see the tongue as the middle element that balances the opposites, such as merit and guilt.

Examples

• Elsewhere in the SY, the ‘tongue’ (or ‘wedge’) appears as the symbol of a central balance between two extremities, e.g. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →

Note

Countable. Verb is regular: wedged, wedging (drop the e). Science fact: a wedge is a simple machine that turns a push into a sideways force. In fractions, equal wedges of a round cake show 1/8, 1/4 and so on.