sprag

1
[ sprag ]

noun
  1. a pole or bar hinged to the rear axle of a cart or the like in such a way that it can brace the vehicle against a road to prevent it from rolling downhill.

  2. Mining. a short timber for propping up loose walls or spacing two sets.

verb (used with object),spragged, sprag·ging.
  1. to prop, support, or immobilize (a vehicle) by means of a sprag.

verb (used without object),spragged, sprag·ging.
  1. to slow a vehicle by means of a sprag or, sometimes, by bracing the feet against the ground.

Origin of sprag

1
1835–45; special use of dial. sprag twig (Old English spræcg shoot, slip); akin to sprig

Other definitions for sprag (2 of 2)

sprag2
[ sprag ]

noun
  1. a young cod.

Origin of sprag

2
First recorded in 1700–10; special use of dialectal sprag “twig, lively young man”; see sprag1 and for meaning, cf. sprig

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sprag in a sentence

  • All piece-work it was in them days, an' every miner holed, spragged (or timbered), picked and loaded his own coal.

    The Boy With the U.S. Miners | Francis Rolt-Wheeler
  • When the whole face is undercut and spragged, the shot-firer is summoned.

    The Boy With the U.S. Miners | Francis Rolt-Wheeler
  • The car was pushed up to the end of the track and its wheels 'spragged' by two blocks of coal.

    Atlantic Narratives | Mary Antin

British Dictionary definitions for sprag

sprag

/ (spræɡ) /


noun
  1. a chock or steel bar used to prevent a vehicle from running backwards on an incline

  2. a support or post used in mining

  1. NZ mining a steel bar inserted into the wheels of a box to act as a brake

Origin of sprag

1
C19: of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012