knife edge

noun

the cutting edge of a knife.

anything very sharp.

a wedge on the fine edge of which a scale beam, pendulum, or the like, balances or oscillates.

Origin of knife edge

First recorded in 1810–20

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for knife edge

pleat, layer, convolution, corrugation, bend, cockle, gathering, ridge, overlap, ruck, crimp, ruffle, plication, ply, wrinkle, lap, furrow, circumvolution, gather, pucker

Examples from the Web for knife edge

Historical Examples of knife edge

A touch of a knife-edge to the rope, and the girl would be saved.
Out of the Depths
Robert Ames Bennet
Followed by another, he advanced along the knife-edge to their wounded comrade.
The House of Pride
Jack London
Her offered, her passive extent, in other words, was about that of a knife-edge.
The Portrait of a Lady
Henry James
The points of the pins serve as a knife-edge for the rocker.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2
Various
The knife-edge is then turned forward and made to cut its way out.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for knife edge

knife edge

noun

the sharp cutting edge of a knife

any sharp edge

a sharp-edged wedge of hard material on which the beam of a balance pivots or about which a pendulum is suspended

a critical point in the development of a situation, process of making a decision, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012