bilge

1 of 2

noun

ˈbilj 

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

Synonyms

Noun

• applesauce [slang]
• balderdash
• baloney
• boloney
• beans
• blah
• blah-blah
• blarney
• blather
• blatherskite
• blither
• bosh
• bull [slang]
• bunk
• bunkum
• buncombe
• claptrap
• codswallop [British]
• crapola [slang]
• crock
• drivel
• drool
• fiddle
• fiddle-faddle
• fiddlesticks
• flannel [British]
• flapdoodle
• folderol
• falderal
• folly
• foolishness
• fudge
• garbage
• guff
• hogwash
• hokeypokey
• hokum
• hoodoo
• hooey
• horsefeathers [slang]
• humbug
• humbuggery
• jazz
• malarkey
• malarky
• moonshine
• muck
• nerts [slang]
• nonsense
• nuts
• piffle
• poppycock
• punk
• rot
• rubbish
• senselessness
• silliness
• slush
• stupidity
• taradiddle
• tarradiddle
• tommyrot
• tosh
• trash
• trumpery
• twaddle

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

Noun

California State Parks officials have begun additional exit inspections of boats at O’Neill Forebay, San Luis Reservoir and Los Banos Creek Reservoir to ensure all water is drained from livewells, bilges and outboard motors to prevent the spread of the mussels. —Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2024

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

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

Phrases Containing bilge

• bilge keel

Kids Definition

bilge

1 of 2 noun

ˈbilj 

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