Real Dictionary

wedge
verb: If you wedge something, you force it to remain in a particular position by holding it there tightly or by fixing something next to it to prevent it from moving.

wedge in American English
a piece of hard material, as wood or metal, tapering from a thick back to a thin edge that can be driven or forced into a narrow opening, as to split wood, lift a weight, or reinforce a structure
to push or be forced as or like a wedge
to split or force apart with or as with a wedge
intransitive verb: to force a way like a wedge
noun: a piece of hard material with two principal faces meeting in a sharply acute angle, for raising, holding, or splitting objects by applying a pounding or driving force, as from a hammer
transitive verb: to separate or split with or as if with a wedge

wedge in British English
noun: a block of solid material, esp wood or metal, that is shaped like a narrow V in cross section and can be pushed or driven between two objects or parts of an object in order to split or secure them

wedge in Mechanical Engineering
noun: A wedge is a triangular-shaped solid inserted between two parts in order to prevent movement between them or to force them apart.