bilge

UK: /ˈbɪldʒ/ US: /bɪldʒ/ ,(bilj)

Inflections of 'bilge' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

bilges

v 3rd person singular

bilging

v pres p

bilged

v past

bilged

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

bilge /bɪldʒ/   n. 

1. Naval Terms, Nautical [countable] Also, bilges. an area at the bottom of a ship where dirty water collects.
2. Naval Terms, Nautical [uncountable] Also called bilge water. water collected there.
3. Slang Terms foolish or worthless talk:
   [uncountable] Your excuse sounds like a lot of bilge.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

bilge  (bilj), n., v., bilged, bilg•ing. 
n. 

1. [Naut.]
   • Nautical either of the rounded areas that form the transition between the bottom and the sides on the exterior of a hull.
   • Nautical Also, bilges. (in a hull with a double bottom) an enclosed area between frames at each side of the floors, where seepage collects.
   • Nautical Also called bilge well. a well into which seepage drains to be pumped away.
   • Nautical Also called bilge water. seepage accumulated in bilges.
2. Slang Terms See bilge water (def. 2).
3. the widest circumference or belly of a cask.

v.i. 

4. Naval Terms [Naut.]
   • Nautical to leak in the bilge.
   • Nautical (of white paint) to turn yellow.
5. to bulge or swell out.

v.t. 

6. Naval Terms, Nautical [Naut.] to damage (a hull bottom) so as to create an entry for seawater.

• perh. variant of bulge 1505–15

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bilge / bɪldʒ/ noun

1. the parts of a vessel's hull where the vertical sides curve inwards to form the bottom
2. (often plural) the parts of a vessel between the lowermost floorboards and the bottom
3. Also called: bilgewater the dirty water that collects in a vessel's bilge
4. silly rubbish; nonsense
5. the widest part of the belly of a barrel or cask

verb

1. (intransitive) (of a vessel) to take in water at the bilge
2. (transitive) to damage (a vessel) in the bilge, causing it to leak

Etymology: 16th Century: probably a variant of bulge