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trailing edge

American  

noun

Aeronautics.
  1. the rear edge of a propeller blade or airfoil.


trailing edge British  

noun

  1. the rear edge of a propeller blade or aerofoil Compare leading edge

  2. physics the edge of a pulse signal as its amplitude falls

"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

Etymology

Origin of trailing edge

First recorded in 1905–10

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.

First, the fringes reduce the fluctuations in airflow by breaking up the trailing edge vortices.

From Science Daily • Jan. 23, 2024

Hesselink of ING predicted that most Chinese chip makers will now opt to focus on "trailing edge" or production of chips using slightly older technology.

From Reuters • Mar. 9, 2023

The auxiliary spar is the trailing edge of the elevator, which flaps up or down to move the nose of the plane up or down.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 7, 2022

By morning, he’d sliced the board in half, rounded the nose and whittled the base down to a sharp trailing edge.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2021

The trailing edge of the main was luffing a bit and he sheeted it in to clean the line up.

From "The Voyage Of The Frog" by Gary Paulsen