cutting edge
Americannoun
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cutting edges
plural
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the sharp edge of a cutting implement.
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forefront; lead.
on the cutting edge of computer technology.
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Although its store continues to attract a steady flow of walk-in customers looking for the cutting edge of cute, JapanLA’s business has been turbo-charged in recent years by livestream shopping.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Despite its age, continuous upgrades have kept the Lovell telescope at the cutting edge of astronomical research.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The firm, long synonymous with low-cost public-market investing, has rarely been on the cutting edge of new product offerings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Van der Vliet says that combining cutting edge technology with extensive knowledge of brain pathology was essential to the project's success.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 29, 2026
There was a touch of rust already forming on the cutting edge of the blade and he rubbed it off with his thumbs.
From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen
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.
