verge
1 Americannoun
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verges
plural
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the edge, rim, or margin of something.
the verge of a desert; to operate on the verge of fraud.
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the limit or point beyond which something begins or occurs; brink.
on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
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a limiting belt, strip, or border of something.
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British. a narrow strip of turf bordering on a pathway, sidewalk, roadway, etc.
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a decorative border, as on or around an object, structural part, etc.
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limited room or scope for something.
an action within the verge of one's abilities.
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an area or district subject to a particular jurisdiction.
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History/Historical. an area or district in England embracing the royal palace, being the jurisdiction of the Marshalsea Court.
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the part of a sloping roof that projects beyond the gable wall.
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Architecture. the shaft of a column or colonette.
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a rod, wand, or staff, especially one carried as an emblem of authority or of the office of a bishop, dean, or the like.
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Horology. a palletlike lever formerly used in inexpensive pendulum clocks.
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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)
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to be on the edge or margin; border.
Our property verges on theirs.
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to come close to or be in transition to some state, quality, etc. (usually followed byon ).
a statesman who verged on greatness; a situation that verged on disaster.
verb (used with object)
noun
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an edge or rim; margin
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a limit beyond which something occurs; brink
on the verge of ecstasy
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a grass border along a road
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an enclosing line, belt, or strip
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architect the edge of the roof tiles projecting over a gable
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architect the shaft of a classical column
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an enclosed space
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horology the spindle of a balance wheel in a vertical escapement, found only in very early clocks
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English legal history
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the area encompassing the royal court that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Lord High Steward
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a rod or wand carried as a symbol of office or emblem of authority, as in the Church
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a rod held by a person swearing fealty to his lord on becoming a tenant, esp of copyhold land
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verb
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to be near (to)
to verge on chaos
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to serve as the edge of (something)
this narrow strip verges the road
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of verge1
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”
Origin of verge2
First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin vergere “to turn, bend, be inclined”
Explanation
Think of an edge, a border, a boundary, and you are thinking about the verge, the point where something begins or ends. We talk about a nervous person being on the verge of a breakdown, or about a scientist being on the verge of a major breakthrough, but the British have another good physical meaning: they call the strip of grass that borders a walkway the verge, giving you a clear mental picture that goes beyond the abstract.
Vocabulary lists containing verge
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 7–11
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Metamorphosis
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This Week in Words: November 26 - December 1, 2017
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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:
Website articles, social media posts and column inches have been filled this week with the news that highly rated 15-year-old forward JJ Gabriel is on the verge of leaving Manchester United.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Sebastien Mallet is on the verge of his best one-year performance ever as portfolio manager of T. Rowe Price Global Value Equity Fund.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
"Before his death, my uncle... had endured displacement, poverty, imprisonment and loss," Ajila told AFP, decrying the lingering danger from "houses on the verge of collapse".
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
“MAGS is on the verge of breaking out and looks quite positive here, with stocks like Apple, Alphabet, and Meta having all firmed up nicely in recent days,” said Fundstrat’s Newton.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
The private detective, sensing that he was on the verge of a breakthrough, hurried to the Ralston business where the call originated.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
We like a very early dinner that verges on being a very late lunch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
He also has a tendency to get starry-eyed around big-name pitchers; his awe of Mr. Skubal verges on sycophantic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The film is such a Christmas perennial it verges on the liturgical, and why not?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
In one direction lay the entire cancellation of HS2, despite the viaducts, tunnels, verges, bat protection facilities, and floating platforms that have already been built.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
Spearpoints shone in the light of the rising sun, and all along die verges the grass glistened with the morning frost.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
The result in Beijing verged at times towards collective paranoia.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
More goals are being scored, but the amount of pushing and pulling has at times verged on the farcical.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
On social media, the schadenfreude has verged on gleeful, with the public picking up on even the smallest references to confirm their priors and their thirst for justice is palpable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
Some people’s fascination with Gein even verged into fandom, according to Hamish McAlpine, producer of the 2000 film “Ed Gein.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025
The colors deepened, glorifying Ishtar and pushing Nergal into a darkness that verged on consuming existence.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Does it mean men’s tennis is verging on another Big Three?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The re-created history, which is where many historical documentaries fail, looks good, and the scenes the writers conjure up are well done, if verging sometimes on melodrama.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
A consistent message emerged: Los Angeles was not a beautiful, vibrant metropolis with serious problems, but a hellhole verging on being lost for good.
From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2026
Sear the thighs skin-side down in a wide skillet until the fat renders and the skin turns deeply golden, verging on bronze.
From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2026
“She’s off Snapchat and Insta. I’m verging on hostile, so I thought I’d call and see what you know.”
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
