trailing edge

American  

noun

Aeronautics.

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

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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

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Etymology

Origin of trailing edge

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

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

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 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