✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

on the edge of

idiom

: very close to (something)
a species on the edge of extinction
The company was teetering on the edge of disaster/bankruptcy.
He was on the edge of saying something when the phone rang.

Examples of on the edge of in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Brazilian proposals -- also called texts -- came on the heels of a fire Thursday that briefly spread through pavilions of the COP30 conference, on the edge of the Amazon. Arkansas Online, 22 Nov. 2025 Sun Never Again is indeed part Lynchian coming-of-ager, part gritty portrait of a village situated on the edge of a coal mine that’s contaminating the region. Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 21 Nov. 2025 There were other people there, on the edge of the riverbank, in pairs and larger groups, talking excitedly, sharing drinks and snacks. Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025 In the viral clip on Instagram, Pearl was hesitating on the edge of the bed before eventually figuring out how to climb up. Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for on the edge of

Cite this Entry

“On the edge of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20the%20edge%20of. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!