on the edge
Idioms-
In a precarious position; also, in a state of keen excitement, as from danger or risk. For example, When the stock market crashed, their whole future was on the edge , or Skydivers obviously must enjoy living on the edge .
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on the edge of . On the point of doing something, as in He was on the edge of winning the election when the sex scandal broke . [c. 1600] Both def. 1 and 2 allude to the danger of falling over the edge of a precipice.
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.
I felt I was on the edge of all that.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
“We were standing in the jet stream, on the edge of space,” Whittaker wrote in his 1999 memoir, “A Life on the Edge.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
Guillermo, whose five children are in school, says his family is on the edge of being evicted from their rental home.
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
See more: Stocks are teetering on the edge of correction territory.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 22, 2026
“Jonesy and I are sitting on the edge with our feet in the water.”
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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.
