- 1[countable] the outside limit of an object, a surface, or an area; the part farthest from the center He stood on the edge of the cliff. a big house on/at the edge of town Don't put that glass so near the edge of the table. I sat down at the water's edge. Stand the coin on its edge. She tore the page out roughly, leaving a ragged edge in the book. see leading edge, trailing edge
- 2[countable] the sharp part of a blade, knife, or sword that is used for cutting Be careful—it has a sharp edge. see also cutting edge, knife edge
- 3the 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.
- 4[singular] a slight advantage over someone or something The company needs to improve its competitive edge. edge on/over somebody/something They have the edge on us.
- 5[singular] a strong, often exciting, quality Her show now has a hard political edge to it.
- 6[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.
- 7-edged (in adjectives) having the type of edge or edges mentioned a lace-edged handkerchief see gilt-edged Idioms
- neurotic
- on edge
- jittery
- nervous easily worried or frightened; anxious about something or afraid of something:She has a nervous temperament. I felt really nervous about meeting him. See also the entry for worried.
- neurotic not able to behave in a reasonable, calm way, because you are always worried about something:He became neurotic about keeping the house clean.
- on edge nervous or bad-tempered, especially because you are worried about what might happen:She was always on edge before an interview.
- jittery (informal) anxious and nervous about what might happen:All this talk of job losses was making him jittery.
- a nervous/neurotic man/woman/lady/girl/boy
- to feel nervous/on edge/jittery
- a bit nervous/on edge/jittery
to be nervous, excited, or bad-tempered Thesaurusnervous
to be in a difficult situation where any mistake may be very dangerous Social workers operate on the razor's edge.
to start to come apart or to fail Support for the governor was fraying around the edges.
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.
having parts or qualities that are not yet as good as they should be She's a little rough around the edges, but she's a great neighbor.
small parts of something or of a person's 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.
(of a sound or taste) to make someone feel physically uncomfortable Just the sound of her voice sets my teeth on edge.
to make something less strong, less bad, etc. The sandwich took the edge off my appetite. I took an aspirin to take the edge off the pain. A squeeze of lemon takes the edge off the sweetness.
to be very close to a very unpleasant or dangerous situation The country is teetering on the brink of civil war.
Check pronunciation: edge