sprag
1a 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.
Mining. a short timber for propping up loose walls or spacing two sets.
to prop, support, or immobilize (a vehicle) by means of a sprag.
to slow a vehicle by means of a sprag or, sometimes, by bracing the feet against the ground.
Origin of sprag
1Other definitions for sprag (2 of 2)
a young cod.
Origin of sprag
2Dictionary.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-WheelerWhen the whole face is undercut and spragged, the shot-firer is summoned.
The Boy With the U.S. Miners | Francis Rolt-WheelerThe 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
/ (spræɡ) /
a chock or steel bar used to prevent a vehicle from running backwards on an incline
a support or post used in mining
NZ mining a steel bar inserted into the wheels of a box to act as a brake
Origin of sprag
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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