| English Dictionary |
VERGE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does verge mean?
• VERGE (noun)
The noun VERGE has 4 senses:
1. a region marking a boundary
2. the limit beyond which something happens or changes
3. a ceremonial or emblematic staff
4. a grass border along a road
Familiarity information: VERGE used as a noun is uncommon.
• VERGE (verb)
The verb VERGE has 1 sense:
1. border on; come close to
Familiarity information: VERGE used as a verb is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
A region marking a boundary
Classified under:
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes
Synonyms:
Hypernyms ("verge" is a kind of...):
bound; boundary; edge (a line determining the limits of an area)
Derivation:
verge (border on; come close to)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The limit beyond which something happens or changes
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
brink; verge
Context example:
on the brink of bankruptcy
Hypernyms ("verge" is a kind of...):
bound; boundary; limit (the greatest possible degree of something)
Derivation:
verge (border on; come close to)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A ceremonial or emblematic staff
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Synonyms:
Hypernyms ("verge" is a kind of...):
staff (a rod carried as a symbol)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "verge"):
bauble (a mock scepter carried by a court jester)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A grass border along a road
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("verge" is a kind of...):
border (a strip forming the outer edge of something)
Domain region:
Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)
| Conjugation: |
... he / she / it verges Past simple: verged
Past participle: verged
-ing form: verging
Sense 1
Meaning:
Border on; come close to
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Context example:
His behavior verges on the criminal
Hypernyms (to "verge" is one way to...):
border; bound (form the boundary of; be contiguous to)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Derivation:
verge (the limit beyond which something happens or changes)
verge (a region marking a boundary)
Context examples
Believe me, we are now on the verge of one.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
The trouble was that now, on the verge of departure, he had no desire to go.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
His tale had occupied the whole day, and the sun was upon the verge of the horizon when he departed.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
She was clearly on the verge of physical collapse.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Have I not described a pleasant site for a dwelling, when I speak of it as bosomed in hill and wood, and rising from the verge of a stream?
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
That he should have kept himself in training under such circumstances is remarkable, but his diet was usually of the sparest, and his habits were simple to the verge of austerity.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The latter was again on the verge of asking his name, when Messner remarked: This Dr. Womble, I've heard he was very handsome, and—er—quite a success, so to say, with the ladies.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
Being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency; urgently needed; absolutely necessary.
(Critical, NCI Thesaurus)
Miss Brenda Tregennis had been a very beautiful girl, though now verging upon middle age.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
She turned scarlet and was on the verge of crying, when she met Laurie's eyes, which would look merry in spite of his heroic efforts.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"A good chief gives, he does not take." (Native American proverb, Mohawk)
"When you are dead, your sister's tears will dry as time goes on, your widow's tears will cease in another's arms, but your mother will mourn you until she dies." (Arabic proverb)
"He who wins the first hand, leaves with only his pants in hand." (Corsican proverb)