ledge

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A horizontal projection forming a narrow shelf on a wall.
2. n. A cut or projection forming a shelf on a cliff or rock wall.
3. n. An underwater ridge or rock shelf.
4. n. A level of rock-bearing ore; a vein.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A shelf on which articles may be placed; anything which resembles such a shelf; a flat rim or projection; as, the ledge of a window; a ledge of earth on the inner side of a parapet.
2. n. Specifically— In arch.: A small horizontal molding of rectangular profile. A string-course.
3. n. In joinery, a piece against which something rests, as the side of a rebate against which a door or shutter is stopped, or a projecting fillet serving the same purpose as the stop of a door, or the fillet which confines a window-frame in its place.
4. n. In ship-building, a. piece of the deck-frame of a ship, lying between the deck-beams.
5. n. A rail of a chair.
6. n. In printing, one of the pieces of furniture; a wedge, used in locking up a form of type.
7. n. A shelf-like ridge or elevation; any natural formation somewhat resembling a shelf: as, a ledge at the top of a precipice; a ledge of rock under water. In mining, ledge is a common name in the Cordilleran region for the lode, or for any outcrop supposed to be that of a mineral deposit or vein. It is frequently used, as reef is in Australia, to designate a quartz-vein.
8. n. A bar for fastening a gate.
9. To lay (eggs).
10. To lay hands on.
11. To lay eggs.
12. To allege.

Wiktionary

1. n. A shelf on which articles may be laid; also, that which resembles such a shelf in form or use, as a projecting ridge or part, or a molding or edge in joinery.
2. n. geology A shelf, ridge, or reef, of rocks.
3. n. A layer or stratum.
4. n. A lode; a limited mass of rock bearing valuable mineral.
5. n. architecture A (door or window) lintel .
6. n. architecture A cornice.
7. n. A piece of timber to support the deck, placed athwartship between beams.
8. n. See lege.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A shelf on which articles may be laid; also, that which resembles such a shelf in form or use, as a projecting ridge or part, or a molding or edge in joinery.
2. n. A shelf, ridge, or reef, of rocks.
3. n. A layer or stratum.
4. n. (Mining) A lode; a limited mass of rock bearing valuable mineral.
5. n. (Shipbuilding) A piece of timber to support the deck, placed athwartship between beams.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water