Meanings
kluge1
plural kluges
- Something that should not work, but does.
Synonyms: workaround
- A device assembled from components intended for disparate purposes.
present singular third person kluges · participle present kluging · participle past kluged · past kluged
- alternativeAlternative spelling of kludge.
Kluge2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSomething that should not work, but does.
Origin
kluge · noun, verb
- Dutch Low Saxonklütje“(little) dumpling, clod”
- Germanklug“clever”
- Englishkluge
From US military slang, possibly from German klug (“clever”), or perhaps from Dutch Low Saxon klütje (“(little) dumpling, clod”), Jutland Danish klyt (“piece of bad workmanship, klud(g)e”); compare standard Danish kludder (“mess, disorder”). (Compare English klutz.) According to the OED, an "invented word" influenced by bodge and fudge. Compare kludge.
More words from German, Dutch Low Saxon
Full word history & related roots →Kluge · proper noun
From the German surname meaning "clever one, "from klug (“clever”) + -e.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with kluge
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
kluge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kluge
“kluge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kluge. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kluge,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kluge.
Source: kluge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.