edge

Universal Words 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. * She tore the page out roughly, leaving a ragged edge in the book. seealsoLEADINGEDGE 2 [C] the sharp part of a blade, knife or SWORD that is used for cutting: Be careful-it has a sharp edge. seealsoKNIFE-EDGE 3 (usually the edge) [sing.] the point at which sth, especially sth bad, may begin to happen SYNBRINK, VERGE: They had brought the country to the edge of disaster. seealsoCUTTINGEDGE 4 [sing.] ~ (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 seealsoGILT-EDGED IDIOMS be on edge to be nervous, excited or bad-tempered on the edge of your seat very excited and giving your full attention to sth: 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. take the edge off sth to make sth 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. moreatFRAYv., RAZOR, ROUGHadj., 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] [usuallypassive] ~ 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. PHRASALVERBS edge sb/sth<->out (of sth) to move sb from their position or job gradually, especially when they are not fully aware of what is happening: She was edged out of the company by the new director.