hand wedge
- noun
- Specialized
:
cuña manual
- The technician used a hand wedge to stabilize the equipment during the repair.
Examples
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He slid a hand wedge beneath the door to keep it from closing.
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A hand wedge can be very useful in woodworking.
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After assembling the shelf, she inserted a hand wedge for extra support.
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She used a hand wedge to stabilize the door.
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After assembling the shelf, she inserted a hand wedge for extra support.
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The technician used a hand wedge to stabilize the equipment during the repair.
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He slid a hand wedge beneath the door to keep it from closing.
Synonyms
34
3.4
A block of material with a thick end that becomes a thin edge to split things or hold them
How Stable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun is compositionally built from 'hand' (indicating manual/use-by-hand or small) + 'wedge' (a tapered piece), so the sense 'a small wedge used by hand to stabilize or secure something' is directly derivable from the parts. The modifier‑head pattern 'hand + N' is common cross‑linguistically and follows normal English compounding, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should grasp the meaning.
Etymology
Hand wedge comes from the simple picture of a small, triangular block you push in with your hand to stop or lift something so it will not move. Because people used this small wedge as a quick 'support', it means 'a small tool used to hold or steady an object'.