verge

¹ American  

[vurj] / vɜrdʒ /

noun

• verges
  plural

1. the edge, rim, or margin of something.

   the verge of a desert; to operate on the verge of fraud.

   Synonyms:

   brink, lip, brim

2. the limit or point beyond which something begins or occurs; brink.

   on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

3. a limiting belt, strip, or border of something.

4. British. a narrow strip of turf bordering on a pathway, sidewalk, roadway, etc.

5. a decorative border, as on or around an object, structural part, etc.

6. limited room or scope for something.

   an action within the verge of one's abilities.

7. an area or district subject to a particular jurisdiction.

8. History/Historical. an area or district in England embracing the royal palace, being the jurisdiction of the Marshalsea Court.

9. the part of a sloping roof that projects beyond the gable wall.

10. Architecture. the shaft of a column or colonette.

11. a rod, wand, or staff, especially one carried as an emblem of authority or of the office of a bishop, dean, or the like.

12. Horology. a palletlike lever formerly used in inexpensive pendulum clocks.

13. Obsolete. a stick or wand held in the hand of a person swearing fealty to a feudal lord on being admitted as a tenant.

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verb (used without object)

verged, verging

1. to be on the edge or margin; border.

   Our property verges on theirs.

2. to come close to or be in transition to some state, quality, etc. (usually followed byon ).

   a statesman who verged on greatness; a situation that verged on disaster.

verb (used with object)

verged, verging

1. to serve as the verge or boundary of.

   a high hedge verging the yard.

verge ² American  

[vurj] / vɜrdʒ /

verb (used without object)

verged, verging

1. to incline; tend (usually followed by to ortoward ).

   The economy verges toward inflation.

2. to slope or sink.

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verge ¹ British  

/ vɜːdʒ /

noun

1. an edge or rim; margin

2. a limit beyond which something occurs; brink

   on the verge of ecstasy

3. a grass border along a road

4. an enclosing line, belt, or strip

5. architect the edge of the roof tiles projecting over a gable

6. architect the shaft of a classical column

7. an enclosed space

8. horology the spindle of a balance wheel in a vertical escapement, found only in very early clocks

9. English legal history

   1. the area encompassing the royal court that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Lord High Steward

   2. a rod or wand carried as a symbol of office or emblem of authority, as in the Church

   3. a rod held by a person swearing fealty to his lord on becoming a tenant, esp of copyhold land

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verb

1. to be near (to)

   to verge on chaos

2. to serve as the edge of (something)

   this narrow strip verges the road

verge ² British  

/ vɜːdʒ /

verb

1. (intr; foll by to or towards) to move or incline in a certain direction

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verge Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing verge

• on the verge of

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• verges
  plural

Etymology

Origin of verge¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English virge, verge “shaft, column, rod (hence boundary or jurisdiction symbolized by a steward's rod), rod of office, penis,” from Middle French, from Latin virga “shoot, twig, branch, rod”

Origin of verge²

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin vergere “to turn, bend, be inclined”

Explanation

Think of an edge, a border, a boundary, and you are thinking about the verge, the point where something begins or ends. We talk about a nervous person being on the verge of a breakdown, or about a scientist being on the verge of a major breakthrough, but the British have another good physical meaning: they call the strip of grass that borders a walkway the verge, giving you a clear mental picture that goes beyond the abstract.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

verge verges verged verging

Tattoo artist Andres Hernandez said he was worried about his family and friends, adding that he would stay awake because structures around him were "on the verge of collapsing."

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Aston Villa manager David O'Leary admitted his side were "on the verge" of being part of a cup shock when they faced Wycombe Wanderers in 2005.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

He joins the Dodgers just as Blake Snell—another two-time Cy Young winner—is on the verge of returning from the injured list.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

They say Snell and Glasnow are both on the verge of returning from what has essentially been season-long injuries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

He dragged Mulch across a grassy verge to a cluster of cherry trees.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

He also has a tendency to get starry-eyed around big-name pitchers; his awe of Mr. Skubal verges on sycophantic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

"We selected some sites that we wanted to try and create meadows on, and we wanted to create some verges," he said.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

Lower land costs and an expectation of a lesser or in fact no need for Buckinghamshire-style tunnels and verges would mean a much lower cost per mile of track.

From BBC ● May 19, 2026

And at times “Kenrex” verges on caricature in its depiction of rural life as a lawless Wild Midwest, garnished by such down-home delicacies as “a deep fried barbecue chili cheese dog with bacon crumbles.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

Spearpoints shone in the light of the rising sun, and all along die verges the grass glistened with the morning frost.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Belgium’s outrage ahead of its match against the Americans verged on disbelief.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

The result in Beijing verged at times towards collective paranoia.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

A questionable outlet, the company obtained the results through a methodology so shady it verged on outright dishonesty: They used a definition of “tradwife” that bears no resemblance to the term’s actual meaning.

From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2026

More goals are being scored, but the amount of pushing and pulling has at times verged on the farcical.

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026

Lander’s talk verged on a sermon, concerning the dilemma of finding your purpose once you’ve slipped the yoke of slavery.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

The re-created history, which is where many historical documentaries fail, looks good, and the scenes the writers conjure up are well done, if verging sometimes on melodrama.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

A consistent message emerged: Los Angeles was not a beautiful, vibrant metropolis with serious problems, but a hellhole verging on being lost for good.

From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2026

"Within three hours flying time of the Gulf, you have the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, verging on China. It's a huge market," explains James Hogan, a former chief executive of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

A plant that was once romantic is now, some fear, verging on the apocalyptic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025

He had a strong jawline, fine, regular features, gray eyes verging into blue, and he drew covert glances from many of the young women sitting on the grass.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• brink
• edge
• fringe
• threshold