trailing edge

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noun Aeronautics.

the rear edge of a propeller blade or airfoil.

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Origin of trailing edge

First recorded in 1905–10

Words nearby trailing edge

trailer trash, trailhead, trail herd, trailing, trailing arbutus, trailing edge, trailing fuchsia, trailing phlox, trailing vortex drag, trailman, trail mix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use trailing edge in a sentence

Not to be left behind, progressives in neighboring Wisconsin clamored to join the cutting edge of public health.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
French officials were already on edge after a series of apparently unconnected attacks, including the stabbing of police officers.
U.S. Spies See Al Qaeda Fingerprints on Paris Massacre|Shane Harris, Nancy A. Youssef|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The rage that Marvin has embodied, a man on the edge of eruption, is always a badly wounded man.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Marvin hops over the edge of his retaining wall, which he built.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Another man chimes in: “Today we are living at the edge of suffering.”
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway|Nina Strochlic|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After a bit of waiting, Mac decided that the smoke was floating from a certain direction, and we began to edge carefully that way.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Truly the flag of Britain was trailing in the mire, or these men would not have dared to address him in that fashion.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
He was hurrying towards the corner of the palace grounds when a shriek from Winifred set his teeth on edge.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
The first man my eyes lighted upon as I stepped inside was MacRae, humped disconsolately on the edge of a bunk.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Squinty turned around, standing on the edge of the little brook, and waited, his heart beating faster and faster.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum

British Dictionary definitions for trailing edge

trailing edge

noun

the rear edge of a propeller blade or aerofoilCompare leading edge

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