verge

[ vurj ]

/ vɜrdʒ /

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See synonyms for: verge / verging on Thesaurus.com

noun

the edge, rim, or margin of something: the verge of a desert; to operate on the verge of fraud.

the limit or point beyond which something begins or occurs; brink: on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

a limiting belt, strip, or border of something.

British. a narrow strip of turf bordering on a pathway, sidewalk, roadway, etc.

a decorative border, as on or around an object, structural part, etc.

limited room or scope for something: an action within the verge of one's abilities.

an area or district subject to a particular jurisdiction.

History/Historical. an area or district in England embracing the royal palace, being the jurisdiction of the Marshalsea Court.

the part of a sloping roof that projects beyond the gable wall.

Architecture. the shaft of a column or colonette.

a rod, wand, or staff, especially one carried as an emblem of authority or of the office of a bishop, dean, or the like.

Horology. a palletlike lever formerly used in inexpensive pendulum clocks.

Obsolete. a stick or wand held in the hand of a person swearing fealty to a feudal lord on being admitted as a tenant.

verb (used without object), verged, verg·ing.

to be on the edge or margin; border: Our property verges on theirs.

to come close to or be in transition to some state, quality, etc. (usually followed by on): a statesman who verged on greatness; a situation that verged on disaster.

verb (used with object), verged, verg·ing.

to serve as the verge or boundary of: a high hedge verging the yard.

OTHER WORDS FOR verge

1 brim, lip, brink.

See synonyms for verge on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of verge

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English virge, verge “shaft, column, rod (hence boundary or jurisdiction symbolized by a steward's rod), rod of office, penis,” from Middle French, from Latin virga “shoot, twig, branch, rod”

Words nearby verge

verdurous, verecund, Vereeniging, Verein, Vereshchagin, verge, vergeboard, vergence, verge on, verger, Vergil

Other definitions for verge (2 of 2)

verge²

[ vurj ]

/ vɜrdʒ /

verb (used without object), verged, verg·ing.

to incline; tend (usually followed by to or toward): The economy verges toward inflation.

to slope or sink.

Origin of verge

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin vergere “to turn, bend, be inclined”

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

How to use verge in a sentence

A strategy more than four decades in the making now stands on the verge of complete success.
How Presidents Have Shaped The US Supreme Court – And Why The Choice Of Its Next Justice Is So Crucial|LGBTQ-Editor|September 23, 2020|No Straight News
In June, India’s shadow banking sector was on the verge of collapse.
Charted: How India’s $370 billion shadow banking sector is surviving the economic slump|Prathamesh Mulye|September 22, 2020|Quartz
It may not be TikTok, but Microsoft is on the verge of acquiring a lineup of popular video game titles that could help grow its consumer and video game businesses.
What Microsoft gets by buying game publisher Bethesda Softworks in a $7.5 billion deal|jonathanvanian2015|September 21, 2020|Fortune
Wisconsin’s Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative was on the verge of ending operations in 2016 when itreceived a lifesaving $30 million loan, said CEO Cathy Mahaffey.
Only three of 26 Obamacare-era nonprofit health insurance co-ops will soon remain|lbelanger225|September 6, 2020|Fortune

For those efforts, they now get first dibs at drafting a player who could bring them from the verge of success to consistent playoff appearances.
First The New York Rangers Made The Postseason. Then They Got The No. 1 Draft Pick.|Julian McKenzie|August 13, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
But to say the capital teeters on the verge of collapse is both melodramatic and misleading.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley|Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was a brutally hot day, 103 degrees, and the city was on the verge of a racial explosion.
Honoring The Late John Doar, A Nearly Forgotten Hero Of The Civil Rights Era|Gary May|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Washington State is on the verge of passing new gun control legislation.
NRA Ducks Gun Fight Out West|Eleanor Clift|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On the verge of turning 60 this December, Lennox still has a few items to cross off her bucket list.
Annie Lennox Doesn’t Give a Damn What You Think|Itay Hod|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All joking aside, what was once considered an expensive gimmick is on the verge of going mainstream.
Welcome to Oculus XXX: In-Your-Face 3D is the Future of Porn|Aurora Snow|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Late into the night they lingered on the veranda, and he found himself on the verge of confessing all to her.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
It was still in the verge of possibility that his son might seek his father in that dismal chamber.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
A coward by nature, he had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown before the trial, thinking of what might happen.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
This mine is situated in low ground near the verge of the stream, and was at first only worked for gold.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
The road we followedPg 134 closely skirts the coast for a great part of the distance, running at times on the verge of the ocean.
British Highways And Byways From A Motor Car|Thomas D. Murphy

British Dictionary definitions for verge (1 of 2)

verge¹

/ (vɜːdʒ) /

noun

an edge or rim; margin

a limit beyond which something occurs; brinkon the verge of ecstasy

British a grass border along a road

an enclosing line, belt, or strip

architect the edge of the roof tiles projecting over a gable

architect the shaft of a classical column

an enclosed space

horology the spindle of a balance wheel in a vertical escapement, found only in very early clocks

English legal history

the area encompassing the royal court that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Lord High Steward
a rod or wand carried as a symbol of office or emblem of authority, as in the Church
a rod held by a person swearing fealty to his lord on becoming a tenant, esp of copyhold land

verb

(intr foll by on) to be near (to)to verge on chaos

(when intr, sometimes foll by on) to serve as the edge of (something)this narrow strip verges the road

Word Origin for verge

C15: from Old French, from Latin virga rod

British Dictionary definitions for verge (2 of 2)

verge²

/ (vɜːdʒ) /

verb

(intr; foll by to or towards) to move or incline in a certain direction

Word Origin for verge

C17: from Latin vergere

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with verge

verge

In addition to the idiom beginning with verge

verge on

also see:

on the verge of

verge

OTHER WORDS FOR verge

Origin of verge

Words nearby verge

Other definitions for verge (2 of 2)

Origin of verge

Words related to verge

How to use verge in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for verge (1 of 2)

Word Origin for verge

British Dictionary definitions for verge (2 of 2)

Word Origin for verge

Other Idioms and Phrases with verge