1
b
: something that borders, limits, or bounds: such as
(1)
: an outer margin of an object or structural part
(2)
: the edge of roof covering (such as tiling) projecting over the gable of a roof
(3)
British
: a paved or planted strip of land at the edge of a road : shoulder
2
a(1)
: a rod or staff carried as an emblem of authority or symbol of office
(2)
obsolete
: a stick or wand held by a person being admitted to tenancy while he swears fealty
b
: the spindle of a watch balance
especially
: a spindle with pallets in an old vertical escapement
c
: the male copulatory organ of any of various invertebrates
verged; verging
1
: to be contiguous
2
: to be on the verge or border
the line where sentiment verges on mawkishness—
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
verged; verging
1
a
of the sun
: to move or tend toward the horizon : sink
b
: to move or extend in some direction or toward some condition
verging to a hasty decline—Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon2
: to be in transition or change
Synonyms
Examples of verge in a Sentence
Noun
the suspect was on the verge of confessing when the officers realized that he hadn't been read his rights
the southern verge of the national park
Recent Examples on the WebMike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
The Trojans haven’t won a title in 39 years, but third-year boss Gottlieb has brought this new culture to the verge of greatness.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Their performances in this gonzo sci-fi fest verge on camp, as does the movie's Grand Guignol sense of violence.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023
Duvall on the verge There’s a strong chance Adam Duvall (wrist fracture) will be reinstated Friday for the start of a three-game series against the Yankees in New York.
—Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 7 June 2023
But here are nine reasons why Sacramento seems to be a city on the verge:
1.
—Chris MacIas and Tim Swanson, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024
There will be mirrors, and doubling, and tears, because hiring Julianne Moore to play a woman on the verge and not having this extraordinary screen crier turn on the waterworks is practically akin to a war crime.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Nov. 2023
The operatic canon represents a long lineage of women pushed well beyond the verge of a nervous breakdown.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023
In the Clarinet Sonata, Anthony McGill displayed eerily beautiful arpeggios just on the verge of audibility.
—Christian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Oct. 2023
Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Rather than using Pitt’s royal and gold, the Chinese had made up uniforms in white and navy blue, which, in this corner of Pennsylvania, verged on sacrilege: Penn State colors.
—Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Director Andrew Haigh is a master of character dramas that verge on the surreal and/or horrifying, and All of Us Strangers sounds like a cross between his 2011 romance Weekend and his 2015 venture 45 Years, which examines a married couple’s relationship through the prism of an unresolved tragedy.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 21 Dec. 2023
Not everything on Eternal Sunshine is successful; the softness of the production can verge into blandness, its bittersweetness becoming noncommittal.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2024
The resulting series of escalating high jinks, which includes the use of blowfish poison, verges on the farcical, but the novel’s major chord is one of rueful longing.
—The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
Yet the stories that emerge from these wars can verge on their own sort of mythmaking.
—Gregg Carlstrom, Foreign Affairs, 6 Mar. 2024
Skinny silhouettes were, in hindsight, a highly unlikely proposition for mass adoption: not just physically constrictive but also revealing to a degree that could verge on a violation of privacy.
—Jonah Weiner, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024
With polls showing that hundreds of Tory lawmakers could lose their seats, the mood inside the party now verges on panic, according to officials.
—Stephen Castle, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
Noun
The stadiums are in good shape, and the leases are not on the verge of expiring.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
The Trojans haven’t won a title in 39 years, but third-year boss Gottlieb has brought this new culture to the verge of greatness.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Their performances in this gonzo sci-fi fest verge on camp, as does the movie's Grand Guignol sense of violence.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023
Duvall on the verge There’s a strong chance Adam Duvall (wrist fracture) will be reinstated Friday for the start of a three-game series against the Yankees in New York.
—Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 7 June 2023
But here are nine reasons why Sacramento seems to be a city on the verge:
1.
—Chris MacIas and Tim Swanson, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024
There will be mirrors, and doubling, and tears, because hiring Julianne Moore to play a woman on the verge and not having this extraordinary screen crier turn on the waterworks is practically akin to a war crime.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Nov. 2023
The operatic canon represents a long lineage of women pushed well beyond the verge of a nervous breakdown.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023
In the Clarinet Sonata, Anthony McGill displayed eerily beautiful arpeggios just on the verge of audibility.
—Christian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Oct. 2023
Verb
But the maître d’ politely refuses me entry in an English that seems to verge on another language.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Rather than using Pitt’s royal and gold, the Chinese had made up uniforms in white and navy blue, which, in this corner of Pennsylvania, verged on sacrilege: Penn State colors.
—Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Director Andrew Haigh is a master of character dramas that verge on the surreal and/or horrifying, and All of Us Strangers sounds like a cross between his 2011 romance Weekend and his 2015 venture 45 Years, which examines a married couple’s relationship through the prism of an unresolved tragedy.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 21 Dec. 2023
Not everything on Eternal Sunshine is successful; the softness of the production can verge into blandness, its bittersweetness becoming noncommittal.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2024
The resulting series of escalating high jinks, which includes the use of blowfish poison, verges on the farcical, but the novel’s major chord is one of rueful longing.
—The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
Yet the stories that emerge from these wars can verge on their own sort of mythmaking.
—Gregg Carlstrom, Foreign Affairs, 6 Mar. 2024
Skinny silhouettes were, in hindsight, a highly unlikely proposition for mass adoption: not just physically constrictive but also revealing to a degree that could verge on a violation of privacy.
—Jonah Weiner, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024
With polls showing that hundreds of Tory lawmakers could lose their seats, the mood inside the party now verges on panic, according to officials.
—Stephen Castle, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'verge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near verge
Cite this Entry
“Verge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verge. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
verge
1 of 2 noun1
: something that borders, limits, or bounds : edge
walking on the grassy verge at the side of a country road
2
: brink sense 2, threshold
the company was on the verge of bankruptcy
verge
2 of 2 verb
verged; verging
: to come near to being
courage verging on recklessness
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