edge

1 of 2

noun

ˈej 

plural edges

1

a

: the cutting side of a blade

a razor's edge

b

: the sharpness of a blade

a knife with no edge

c(1)

: force, effectiveness

blunted the edge of the legislation

(2)

: vigor or energy especially of body

maintains his hard edge

d(1)

: incisive or penetrating quality

writing with a satirical edge

(2)

: a noticeably harsh or sharp quality

her voice had an edge to it

(3)

: a secondary but distinct quality

rock music with a bluesy edge

e

: keenness or intensity of desire or enjoyment

lost my competitive edge

2

a

: the line where an object or area begins or ends : border

on the edge of a plain

b

: the narrow part adjacent to a border

the edge of the deck

c(1)

: a point near the beginning or the end

especially : brink, verge

on the edge of disaster

(2)

: the threshold of danger or ruin

living on the edge

d

: a favorable margin : advantage

has an edge on the competition

3

: a line or line segment that is the intersection of two plane faces (as of a pyramid) or of two planes

4

edges : short fine hair that grows along a person's hairline : baby hair

With carefully finessed edges in delicate swoop and wave designs, hairstyles as simple as a high ponytail or sleek bob can quickly be transformed into a work of art …

—Devon Abelman

—usually singular when used before another noun

edge styling

edgeless adjective

edge

2 of 2

verb

edged; edging

transitive verb

1

a

: to give an edge to

b

: to be on an edge of

trees edging the lake

2

: to move or force gradually

edged him off the road

3

: to incline (a ski) sideways so that one edge cuts into the snow

4

: to defeat by a small margin

—often used with out

edged out her opponent

intransitive verb

: to advance by short moves

Phrases

on edge

: anxious, nervous

Synonyms

Noun

• acerbity
• acidity
• acidness
• acridity
• acridness
• acrimoniousness
• acrimony
• acuteness
• asperity
• bite
• bitterness
• harshness
• keenness
• poignance
• poignancy
• pungency
• roughness
• sharpness
• tartness

Verb

• grind
• hone
• sharpen
• stone
• strop
• whet

Examples of edge in a Sentence

Noun

They peered over the edge of the roof.

The fabric was frayed at the edge.

He made us all nervous by standing so close to the edge of the cliff.

She sat on the edge of the counter, swinging her legs.

the edge of an ax

His voice had a sarcastic edge.

These amendments will blunt the edge of the legislation.

Verb

Edge the sleeve with lace.

She edged away from him.

Gasoline prices have been edging upward.

I edged my chair closer to the table.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Greg Alder has had great success growing raspberries on the eastern edge of large trees. —Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 14 Nov. 2024

Ribbons marked the edge of the area that will be logged. —April Ehrlich, ProPublica, 12 Nov. 2024

Verb

Amid the backlash from the right over diversity, equity and inclusion, pockets of corporate America are edging away from public commitments to help level the playing field. —Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 4 Nov. 2024

The other battlegrounds are edging toward Harris, according to the NYT-Siena poll, with the vice president grabbing narrow leads in Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Georgia, with Michigan tied and Trump maintaining his advantage in Arizona. —David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English egge, going back to Old English ecg "cutting side of a blade, border," going back to Germanic *agjō "cutting side of a blade" (whence also Old Frisian eg "cutting side of a blade, sword," Old Saxon eggia, Old High German egga, ekka "cutting side of a blade, border, point, corner," Old Norse egg "cutting side of a blade"), feminine noun derivative from Indo-European *h₂eḱ- "sharp, pointed," whence also Latin aciēs "sharp part of a weapon"

Note: The base *h₂eḱ- "sharp, pointed" was productive of a large number of suffixed derivatives in the Indo-European daughter languages. Latin had a verbal base deriving from h₂eḱ-eh₁- "to be sharp" (see acetic acid, acid entry 2) and a presumed adjectival stem *acū- "sharp" (see acute). An apparently isolated derivative is Greek akmḗ "highest point" (see acme). For the derivative *h₂eḱ-r-/h₂oḱ-r-, with outcomes in Greek, Latin, and other languages, see acro-, mediocre. See also awn, ear entry 2.

Verb

Middle English eggen "to set (the teeth) on edge," derivative of egge edge entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing edge

• balanced on a razor's edge
• bleeding edge
• close to the edge
• cutting edge
• deckle edge
• edge city
• edge effect
• edge-grain
• edge-grained
• edge in
• edge out
• edge tool
• gilt-edge
• hard-edge
• knife-edge
• leading edge
• live (life) on the edge
• lives close to the edge
• on a/the knife-edge
• on the edge
• on the edge of
• on the edge of a precipice
• on the edge of one's seat
• on the ragged edge
• on the razor's edge
• over the edge
• razor edge
• razor's edge
• set one's teeth on edge
• take the edge off
• teetering on the brink/edge of
• trailing edge
• walks a/the razor edge

Kids Definition

edge

1 of 2 noun

ˈej 

1

a

: the cutting side of a blade

a knife's edge

b

: the sharpness of a blade

a razor with no edge

c

: a harsh or sharp quality

his voice had a sarcastic edge

2

a

: the line where an object or surface begins or ends

also : the narrow part next to it

the edge of the deck

b

: the line where two plane faces of a solid meet

an edge of the cube

3

: advantage sense 3

our experience gave us an edge

edged

ˈejd

adjective

edge

2 of 2 verb

edged; edging

1

: to give an edge to

edge a sleeve with lace

2

: to advance slowly or by short moves

edged my chair closer