- [countable] the outside limit of an object, a surface or an area; the part furthest from the centre
- I gripped the edge of my desk to steady myself.
- the first spacecraft to travel to the edge of the solar system.
- on the edge of something He stood on the edge of the cliff.
- Stand the coin on its edge.
- at the edge of something a big house on/at the edge of town
- I sat down at the water's edge.
- near the edge of something Don't put that glass so near the edge of the table.
- She tore the page out roughly, leaving a ragged edge in the book.
Extra Examples- My foot caught the edge of the table.
- She sat on the edge of her bed.
- My fingers played with the frayed edges of my jeans.
- Flip the fabric over so the cut edge is now to your left.
- She could see rocky cliffs on the opposite edge of the lake.
- Smoke was making its way around the edges of the door.
- The building forms the northern edge of the courtyard.
- The road skirts the western edge of the forest.
- Trees lined the edges of the path.
- We had reached the edge of the map and didn't know which way to go.
- the top edge of the picture frame
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- top
- upper
- bottom
- …
- reach
- skirt
- clutch
- …
- along the edge
- around the edge
- round the edge
- …
- right on the edge
- [countable] the sharp part of a knife, blade or sword that is used for cutting
- Be careful—it has a sharp edge.
- a knife with a serrated edge
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- razor-sharp
- sharp
- cutting
- …
- sharpen
- (usually the edge)[singular] the point at which something, especially something bad, may begin to happen synonym brink, verge
- They had brought the country to the edge of disaster.
- [singular] a slight advantage over somebody/something
- The company needs to improve its competitive edge.
- edge on/over somebody/something They have the edge on us.
Extra Examples- Their training gave them an extra edge.
- He believes Marseilles have a slight edge as they face Rangers at home.
- The intensive training she had done gave her the edge over the other runners.
- This is one of the key ways in which the firm can gain the edge over its competitors.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- competitive
- slight
- big
- …
- give somebody/something
- gain
- have
- …
- edge over
- [singular] a strong, often exciting, quality
- Her show now has a hard political edge to it.
- [singular] a sharp tone of voice, often showing anger
- He did his best to remain calm, but there was a distinct edge to his voice.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- razor-sharp
- sharp
- cutting
- …
- sharpen
- -edged(in adjectives) having the type of edge or edges mentioned
- a lace-edged handkerchief
Word OriginOld English ecg ‘sharpened side of a blade’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch egge and German Ecke, also to Old Norse eggja ‘incite’, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin acies ‘edge’ and Greek akis ‘point’.
Idioms
See edge in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee edge in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe on edge
- to be nervous, excited or easily made angrySynonyms nervousnervousneurotic ▪ on edge ▪ jitteryThese words all describe people who are easily frightened or are behaving in a frightened way.nervous easily worried or frightened:Topics Feelingsc2
- He was of a nervous disposition.
- She became neurotic about keeping the house clean.
- She was always on edge before an interview.
- All this talk of job losses was making him jittery.
- a nervous/neurotic man/woman/girl
- to feel nervous/on edge/jittery
- a bit nervous/on edge/jittery
be on the razor’s edge | be on a razor edge
- to be in a difficult situation where any mistake may be very dangerous
- Social workers operate on the razor’s edge.
fray at/around the edges/seams
- to start to come apart or to fail
- Support for the leader was fraying at the edges.
on the edge of your seat
- very excited and giving your full attention to something
- The game had the crowd on the edge of their seats.
- I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened next.
push somebody over/to the edge
- to force somebody to lose control of their behaviour, usually after a particular event or series of events
- No one knows exactly what caused his breakdown, but losing his job may have pushed him over the edge.
(have some) rough edges | be rough around the edges
- (to have some) small parts, for example in a performance or in your character, that are not yet as good as they should be
- The ballet still had some rough edges.
- He had a few rough edges knocked off at school.
- The films are very rough around the edges.
set somebody’s teeth on edge
- (of a sound or taste) to make somebody feel physically uncomfortable
- Just the sound of her voice sets my teeth on edge.
take the edge off (something)
- to make something less strong, less bad, etc.
- The sandwich took the edge off my appetite.
- I just need something to take the edge off.
- I took an aspirin to take the edge off the pain.
- A squeeze of lemon takes the edge off the sweetness.
teeter on the edge/brink of something
- to be very close to a very unpleasant or dangerous situation
- The country is teetering on the edge of civil war.
Check pronunciation:
edge