BILGE, of a ship, the bottom of her floor, or the breadth of the part she rests on when a-ground. Bilge-water is that which lodges on her floor below the level of the well of the pump; and bilge-pumps, or burr-pumps, are those that carry off the bilge-water. A ship is said to be bilged when her bilge is broken in and she springs a leak.