cutting edge
Americannoun
-
the sharp edge of a cutting implement.
-
forefront; lead.
on the cutting edge of computer technology.
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cutting edge
First recorded in 1950–55
Explanation
Something that's cutting-edge is the very latest or the most stylish. If you always covet the newest kind of cellphone, you could say that you like cutting-edge technology. The adjective cutting-edge often describes new advances in science or technology — a hospital might advertise its use of cutting-edge cancer treatments, for example. Art can be described as cutting-edge as well, if it uses innovative techniques or does something completely new. The word cutting-edge has only been used in this figurative way since the mid-1960s; before that it literally meant "the edge of a tool's blade."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Cohen: He’s always on the cutting edge of the next thing and the next group of musicians that he finds.
From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2026
The core pitch: monitor your physiology like a hawk, take treatments on the cutting edge of science, and boost your odds of a longer, healthier life.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
The Olin Stephens-designed vessel may not have been cutting edge, but it remained fast–fast enough to rout its American competition and sweep the Australians in the Cup.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
In the study, the team used a cutting edge imaging method to examine how electric charges are distributed throughout the material.
From Science Daily • May 4, 2026
The air seemed to be charged with his uncontrollable fury — every hair on the tiger seemed to jut like sharp spikes, and his teeth and eyes glittered like the cutting edge of a knife.
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
