词性: noun1 [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
词性: verb1 [+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.
