bilge

1 of 2

noun

1
: the bulging part of a cask or barrel
2
a
: the part of the underwater body of a ship between the flat of the bottom and the vertical topsides
b
: the lowest point of a ship's inner hull
3
: stale or worthless remarks or ideas

bilge

2 of 2

verb

bilged; bilging

intransitive verb

: to become damaged in the bilge

Examples of bilge in a Sentence

Noun That magazine prints a lot of bilge about celebrities. tried to justify his unhinged tirade with a lot of stale and insincere bilge
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Noisemakers, full revs to shallower water, radio call, check the bilges. Caroline Van Hemert, Outside Online, 9 July 2024 The commercial value of these cartilaginous appendages is so great that fishers won’t waste space in the bilges of vessels by keeping the entire fish. Angela Posada-Swafford, Discover Magazine, 28 June 2024 The employee had complained that the ship had a leak and needed repairs to its cargo hold bilge system before Maersk fired him in March 2021, according to OSHA. Lia Russell, Baltimore Sun, 27 Mar. 2024 This kind of oily bilge water typically contains oil contamination from the operation and cleaning of the ship’s machinery, according to the Justice Department. Alexa Gagosz, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Aug. 2023 See all Example Sentences for bilge 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably modification of Middle French boulge, bouge leather bag, curved part — more at budget

First Known Use

Noun

1513, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Verb

1728, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bilge was in 1513

Cite this Entry

“Bilge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bilge. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

bilge

1 of 2 noun
1
: the bulging part of a cask or barrel
2
: the part of a ship's hull between the bottom and the point where the sides begin to rise nearly straight up

bilge

2 of 2 verb
bilged; bilging
: to become damaged in the bilge

More from Merriam-Webster on bilge

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!