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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.

See Examples For:

The trailing edge acts as the evening side, where air moves back toward darkness.

From Science Daily May 27, 2026

A fastback design calls for a roughly diagonal profile and backlight glass sloping from the trailing edge of the roofline to the deck lid, a feature nowhere in sight.

From The Wall Street Journal May 23, 2026

After offloading a “poop shot,” the eagle flew off — revealing a gap in the feathers on the trailing edge of its left wing, Steers wrote in a Facebook post about the incident.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 4, 2025

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 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

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