a line or border at which a surface terminates: Grass grew along the edges of the road. The paper had deckle edges.
2.
a brink or verge: the edge of a cliff; the edge of disaster.
3.
any of the narrow surfaces of a thin, flat object: a book with gilt edges.
4.
a line at which two surfaces of a solid object meet: an edge of a box.
5.
the thin, sharp side of the blade of a cutting instrument or weapon.
6.
the sharpness proper to a blade: The knife has lost its edge.
7.
sharpness or keenness of language, argument, tone of voice, appetite, desire, etc.: The snack took the edge off his hunger. Her voice had an edge to it.
8.
BritishDialect. a hill or cliff.
9.
an improved position; advantage: He gained the edge on his opponent.
10.
Cards.
a.
advantage, esp. the advantage gained by being the age or eldest hand.
[Origin: bef. 1000; ME egge, OE ecg; c. G Ecke corner; akin to L aciés, Gk akís point]
—Related forms
edgeless, adjective
—Synonyms 1. rim, lip. Edge,border,margin refer to a boundary. An edge is the boundary line of a surface or plane: the edge of a table. Border is the boundary of a surface or the strip adjacent to it, inside or out: a border of lace. Margin is a limited strip, generally unoccupied, at the extremity of an area: the margin of a page.
edge cities, term designating commercial complexes that have grown up on the margins of large American cities, a development that dates mainly from the 1970s. The term was coined by Joel Garreau in his book Edge City: Life on the New Frontier (1991). Sometimes called "technoburbs," edge cities typically develop at the intersection of major highways and feature the amenities that serve large suburban populations in such locations—shopping malls, entertainment centers, hospitals, schools, regional airports, and the like. These settings have proved attractive to businesses for corporate headquarters, which are often sited on appealingly sylvan "campuses," and for office buildings that can house smaller companies. With convenient access and pleasant surroundings, edge cities avoid many inner-city problems. However, critics have noted in them marked class segregation and a diminished sense of community as well as, increasingly, such traditional urban ills as congestion and crime. Representative edge cities include Tysons Corner, Va., Edison Township, N.J., Irvine, Calif., and Plano, Tex.
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/r/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [ej] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, edged, edg·ing. 