/ edʒ; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] the outside limit of an object, a surface or an area; the part furthest from the centre :
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.
—see also leading edge
2.
[ C ] the sharp part of a blade, knife or sword that is used for cutting :
Be careful—it has a sharp edge.
—picture at carving knife
—see also knife-edge
3.
(usually the edge ) [ sing. ] the point at which sth, especially sth bad, may begin to happen
SYN brink , verge :
They had brought the country to the edge of disaster.
—see also cutting edge
4.
[ sing. ] edge (on / over sb/sth) a slight advantage over sb/sth :
The company needs to improve its competitive edge .
They have the edge on us.
5.
[ sing. ] a strong, often exciting, quality :
Her show now has a hard political edge to it.
6.
[ sing. ] 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 also gilt-edged
•
IDIOMS
- be on edge
- on the edge of your seat
- take the edge off sth
—more at fray verb , razor , rough adjective , teeter , tooth
■ verb
1.
[+ adv. / prep. ] to move or to move sth slowly and carefully in a particular direction :
[ v ]
She edged a little closer to me.
I edged nervously past the dog.
[ vn ]
Emily edged her chair forward.
2.
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] edge sth (with / in sth) to put sth around the edge of sth :
The handkerchief is edged with lace.
3.
[ v + adv. / prep. ] to increase or decrease slightly :
Prices edged up 2% in the year to December.
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- edge sb/sth out (of sth)
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old 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.