LEADING EDGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does leading edge mean? 

• LEADING EDGE (noun)
  The noun LEADING EDGE has 1 sense:

1. forward edge of an airfoil

  Familiarity information: LEADING EDGE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LEADING EDGE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Forward edge of an airfoil

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("leading edge" is a kind of...):

edge (a sharp side formed by the intersection of two surfaces of an object)

Holonyms ("leading edge" is a part of...):

aerofoil; airfoil; control surface; surface (a device that provides reactive force when in motion relative to the surrounding air; can lift or control a plane in flight)

 Context examples 

ARP-2/3 is a complex of proteins localized at the leading edge of moving cells that nucleates the formation of new actin fibers and interacts with Wasp to stimulate migration.

(Cell Migration Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

A slender projection of the plasma membrane at the leading edge of migrating cells.

(Filopodia, NCI Thesaurus)

This structure is involved in cellular motility and can define the leading edge of a migrating cell.

(Lamellipodia, NCI Thesaurus)

Researchers from Japan and China studied the serrations in the leading edge of owls’ wings, gaining new insight into how they work to make the birds’ flight silent.

(Owls' Wings Key to Beating Wind Turbine Noise, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

During cell migration calpain1 (mu-calpain) acts at the leading edge as a response to integrin signals or calcium fluctuations due to the stretch activated calcium channels.

(Calpain-2 Cell Motility Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

The tail of the gas stream is flung out of the system, but the leading edge swings back around the black hole, collides with itself and creates an elliptical cloud of material.

(Mysterious Blast Studied with NASA Telescopes, NASA)

These owl-inspired leading edge serrations, if applied to wind turbine blades, aircraft wings or drone rotors, could provide a useful biomimetic design for flow control and noise reduction.

(Owls' Wings Key to Beating Wind Turbine Noise, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The researchers analyzed owl-inspired feather wing models with and without leading edge serrations, by combining large-eddy simulations – a mathematical model for turbulence used in computational fluid dynamics to simulate air flows – and Particle-Image Velocimetry (PIV) and force measurements in a low-speed wind tunnel.

(Owls' Wings Key to Beating Wind Turbine Noise, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)