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a capacious, flat-bottomed vessel, usually intended to be pushed or towed, for transporting freight or passengers; lighter.
a vessel of state used in pageants:
elegantly decorated barges on the Grand Canal in Venice.
Navy. a boat reserved for a flag officer.
a boat that is heavier and wider than a shell, often used in racing as a training boat.
New England (chiefly Older Use) . a large, horse-drawn coach or, sometimes, a bus.
to move clumsily; bump into things; collide:
to barge through a crowd.
to move in the slow, heavy manner of a barge.
to carry or transport by barge:
Coal and ore had been barged down the Ohio to the Mississippi.
barge in, to intrude, especially rudely:
I hated to barge in without an invitation.
barge into,

Also, barge in on. to force oneself upon, especially rudely; interfere in:
to barge into a conversation.
to bump into; collide with:
He started to run away and barged into a passer-by.

Contemporary Examples

She had no need for magic arts and charms given her barge with gilded stern and soaring purple sails.
All Hail Cleopatra! Michael Korda November 4, 2010

The offices are on a barge that has floated in the river since 1976, but which is on dry land today.
Climate Change Hits the Mississippi River David Frum January 17, 2013

When in doubt, barge into the meeting, argue, then call him out on sleeping in his office.
Eulogy for Don Draper’s Secretary The Daily Beast Video September 19, 2010

I wandered around aimlessly for a while, then gave the goose to an acquiescent hippy on a barge.
The Life and Art of Radical Provocateur—and Commune Leader—Otto Muehl Anthony Haden-Guest September 21, 2014

Historical Examples

The revenue captain gave the required pledge, and his sword was restored; after which his men were permitted to man the barge.
The Three Brides, Love in a Cottage, and Other Tales Francis A. Durivage

By the time we reach Valence, soon after mid-day, we have passed one barge only.
The Roof of France Matilda Betham-Edwards

After lying alongside the barge for a minute or two she turned her head, and made back again with all speed.
Friends, though divided G. A. Henty

Make haste, then, or we shall have to wait till the barge has gone by.
The Channings Mrs. Henry Wood

He started from West Point in a barge, with some officers and men.
The Yankee Tea-party Henry C. Watson

The barge is coming off, Mr. Hardy, with the pennant flying, sir!
Captain Brand of the “Centipede” H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise

noun
a vessel, usually flat-bottomed and with or without its own power, used for transporting freight, esp on canals
a vessel, often decorated, used in pageants, for state occasions, etc
(navy) a boat allocated to a flag officer, used esp for ceremonial occasions and often carried on board his flagship
(jocular, derogatory) any vessel, esp an old or clumsy one
(Austral, informal) a heavy or cumbersome surfboard
verb
(informal) (intransitive) foll by into. to bump (into)
(transitive) (informal) to push (someone or one’s way) violently
(intransitive; foll by into or in) (informal) to interrupt rudely or clumsily: to barge into a conversation
(transitive) (sailing) to bear down on (another boat or boats) at the start of a race
(transitive) to transport by barge
(intransitive) (informal) to move slowly or clumsily
n.

c.1300, “small seagoing vessel with sails,” from Old French barge, Old Provençal barca, from Medieval Latin barga, perhaps from Celtic, or perhaps from Latin *barica, from Greek baris “Egyptian boat,” from Coptic bari “small boat.” Meaning “flat-bottomed freight boat” dates from late 15c.
v.

“to journey by barge,” 1590s, from barge (n.). The form barge into and the sense “crash heavily into,” in reference to the rough handling of barges, dates from 1830s, American English. Related: Barged; barging.