on the edge

1. 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 .

2. 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

No group claimed responsibility for the raid that killed 14 soldiers at the Kafolo army camp on the edge of the Bounkani region in June 2020, but authorities suspect the assailants were Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists from Burkina Faso.

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Mia, Lyle says, is a bit of an antihero and woman on the edge.

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“I have clients siting on the edge of their seat, waiting to find out if it was their jewelry that was recovered,” he said.

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Your heart is in your mouth at times, you're really living on the edge.

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That finding will be keenly felt by Brazil, which on Monday is hosting climate ministers in Brasilia ahead of next month's UN COP30 conference in Belem on the edge of the Amazon.

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Related Words

• insignificant 
• minimal 
• minor 
• negligible