edge

American  

[ej] / ɛdʒ /

noun

• edges
  plural

1. a line or border at which a surface terminates.

   Grass grew along the edges of the road. The paper had deckle edges.

   Synonyms:

   lip, rim

2. a brink or verge.

   the edge of a cliff; the edge of disaster.

3. any of the narrow surfaces of a thin, flat object.

   a book with gilt edges.

4. a line at which two surfaces of a solid object meet.

   an edge of a box.

5. the thin, sharp side of the blade of a cutting instrument or weapon.

6. the sharpness proper to a blade.

   The knife has lost its edge.

7. sharpness or keenness of language, argument, tone of voice, appetite, desire, etc..

   The snack took the edge off his hunger. Her voice had an edge to it.

8. British Dialect. a hill or cliff.

9. an improved position; advantage.

   He gained the edge on his opponent.

10. Cards.

    1. advantage, especially the advantage gained by being the age or eldest hand.

    2. eldest hand.

11. Ice Skating. one of the two edges of a skate blade where the sides meet the bottom surface, made sharp by carving a groove on the bottom.

12. Skiing. one of the two edges on the bottom of a ski that is angled into a slope when making a turn.

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verb (used with object)

• edges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• edged,
  past participle,  past
• edging
  present participle

1. to put an edge on; sharpen.

2. to provide with an edge or border.

   to edge a terrace with shrubbery; to edge a skirt with lace.

3. to make or force (one's way) gradually by moving sideways.

4. Metalworking.

   1. to turn (a piece to be rolled) onto its edge.

   2. to roll (a piece set on edge).

   3. to give (a piece) a desired width by passing between vertical rolls.

   4. to rough (a piece being forged) so that the bulk is properly distributed for final forging.

verb (used without object)

• edges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• edged,
  past participle,  past
• edging
  present participle

1. to move sideways.

   to edge through a crowd.

2. to advance gradually or cautiously.

   a car edging up to a curb.

verb phrase

1. edge in to insert or work in or into, especially in a limited period of time.

   Can you edge in your suggestion before they close the discussion?

2. edge out to defeat (rivals or opponents) by a small margin.

   The home team edged out the visitors in an exciting finish.

idioms

1. on edge,

   1. (of a person or a person's nerves) acutely sensitive; nervous; tense.

   2. impatient; eager.

      The contestants were on edge to learn the results.

2. set one's teeth on edge. tooth.

3. have an edge on, to be mildly intoxicated with alcoholic liquor.

   He had a pleasant edge on from the sherry.

edge British  

/ ɛdʒ /

noun

1. the border, brim, or margin of a surface, object, etc

2. a brink or verge

   the edge of a cliff

   the edge of a breakthrough

3. maths

   1. a line along which two faces or surfaces of a solid meet

   2. a line joining two vertices of a graph

4. the sharp cutting side of a blade

5. keenness, sharpness, or urgency

   the walk gave an edge to his appetite

6. force, effectiveness, or incisiveness

   the performance lacked edge

7. dialect

   1. a cliff, ridge, or hillside

   2. (capital) (in place names)

      Hade Edge

8. to have a slight advantage or superiority (over)

9. 1. nervously irritable; tense

   2. nervously excited or eager

10. to make someone acutely irritated or uncomfortable

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verb

1. (tr) to provide an edge or border for

2. (tr) to shape or trim (the edge or border of something), as with a knife or scissors

   to edge a pie

3. to push (one's way, someone, something, etc) gradually, esp edgeways

4. (tr) cricket to hit (a bowled ball) with the edge of the bat

5. (tr) to tilt (a ski) sideways so that one edge digs into the snow

6. (tr) to sharpen (a knife, etc)

edge More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing edge

• cutting edge
• get a word in edgewise
• have the edge on
• on edge
• on the edge
• over the edge
• set one's teeth on edge
• take the edge off
• thin edge of the wedge

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Usage

What is a basic definition of edge? The word edge most commonly refers to the sharp or angled side of an object or the place where something stops and something else starts—a border or margin. Edge is also used as a verb meaning to move sideways. Edge has many additional senses as both a noun and verb. When it’s used to refer to the side or tip of an object, the word edge often implies that it’s sharp or pointy.

• Real-life example: The sharp edge of a knife is the part that you use to cut things with.
• Used in a sentence: I accidentally gave myself a paper cut on the edge of the envelope.

When it refers to the line or border where something stops, edge can be used in the context of objects or places. An edge may be an intentional boundary or it may simply be the place where something ends. Sometimes, it refers to the farthest possible point you can go before falling off of something—a verge or brink.

• Real-life example: The edges of an object are its outermost borders or margins. When you write too close to the edge of a piece of paper, you might write on whatever’s next to it, like the surface of the table it’s on. The edge of a road is the point where it stops and something else begins, such as grass or a sidewalk. The edge of a cliff is the last point you can stand on before there is no more cliff and you will fall. This sense of the word can also be used in figurative ways, as in the edge of reality. 
• Used in a sentence: The pencil rolled over the edge of the desk and fell on the floor. 

Edge can also be used as a verb meaning to move slowly or cautiously, such as by moving around the edges of something so as not to touch it or fall.

• Used in a sentence: The boy edged past his sleeping father to sneak into the kitchen.

Synonym Usage

Edge, border, margin refer to a boundary. An edge is the boundary line of a surface or plane: the edge of a table. Border is the boundary of a surface or the strip adjacent to it, inside or out: a border of lace. Margin is a limited strip, generally unoccupied, at the extremity of an area: the margin of a page.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• edger
  noun
• underedge
  noun
• outedge
  verb (used with object)
• unedge
  verb (used with object)
• edgeless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• edges
  plural

Participles

• edging
  present
• edged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• edge
  simple
• edges
  simple
• have edged
  perfect
• has edged
  perfect
• am edging
  progressive
• are edging
  progressive
• is edging
  progressive
• have been edging
  perfect progressive
• has been edging
  perfect progressive

Past

• edged
  simple
• had edged
  perfect
• was edging
  progressive
• were edging
  progressive
• had been edging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will edge
  simple
• will have edged
  perfect
• will be edging
  progressive
• will have been edging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of edge

First recorded before 1000; Middle English egge, Old English ecg; cognate with German Ecke “corner”; akin to Latin acus “needle,” Greek akís “point”; see also acute ( def. ), egg ²

Explanation

The place where something begins or ends is called the edge. If you get too close to a cliff’s edge, you might fall off it. Going to the water's edge is not so dangerous. The part of a knife's blade that actually does the cutting is called the edge. Make sure you keep it sharp! This sense of sharpness is the image you want to have for the many figurative senses of this word. If someone speaks to you with an edge in his or her voice, be careful. They might be getting angry. And if you have an edge over someone, think of yourself as a little sharper because you have the advantage. Your years of training will give you the competitive edge over newcomers to the game. If your company is on the cutting edge of 3D technology, it is the industry leader.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

edge edges edged edging

Using the vast hectares of open space on the roofs of Philippine malls has helped edge those numbers upward.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Gilbert’s plan isn’t the first ambitious attempt to transform Detroit at the water’s edge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

But to maintain that edge, the company will need to spend more in the coming quarters.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Binoculars or a small telescope can provide a closer look as the curved edge of Earth's shadow moves across the lunar surface.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

One slip and he’d be over the edge.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

ByteDance also released one called Seed3D 2.0 in April, which it says improves on details that are hard for AI tools to get right, such as sharp edges and thin walls.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

“Then, I start with loops around the edges and work my way in,” he continued.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

The biggest hits sand down the rough-hewn edges of Mama’s metaphorical front porch to up their resale value, perhaps never funnier than Luke Bryan’s bullet-point summer vacation on “Fish, Hunt, Golf, Drink.”

From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026

Regional firefighting chief Marc Vermeulen warned his teams would still have to spend several days dousing water on remaining flames inside the forest as well as at its edges to avoid it picking up again.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Danny thought it looked like the edges of a sunrise.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

However, both main contracts edged up Thursday after Iran said it had agreed a route with Oman for ships transiting the waterway and were adding the final touches to arrangements for jointly managing it.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

U.S. stock futures rose while oil edged higher in early European trade as progress in U.S.-Iran peace talks remained clouded in uncertainty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Profits edged up five percent to $2.4 billion, while revenues rose four percent to $7.1 billion.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

Prices edged up 0.1% on month in June.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Shaking with relief, she edged past the spot and entered the water.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

U.S. stock market moves were muted, with the Nasdaq composite slipping and the Dow industrials edging higher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

However, quickfire wins in spring 2025 led to a Windsor Park meeting with Ishmael Davis, edging a split decision verdict having pulled himself off the canvas and suffering a badly swollen eye.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Those two factors “complicate the Fed story,” he said, adding that the chance of a rate hike at next week’s U.S. central bank meeting were edging higher.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

Miroslav Klose won it with five in 2006, as did Thomas Muller in 2010, edging out Diego Forlan, Wesley Sneijder and David Villa on assists.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Another fifteen or twenty cars almost rear-ended us, sitting motionless in the middle of Highway 6, before Faith started edging the Sunbird forward.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Related Words

• boundary
• brink
• corner
• end
• fringe
• line
• lip
• margin
• mouth
• outskirt
• perimeter
• rim
• shore
• threshold
• verge