Word.ws English Dictionary

edgewise

Syllables: edge·wise/ˈɛdʒwaɪz//ˈɛd͡ʒwaɪz/

edgewise adverb: edgeways.

Adverb

edgewise (comparative more edgewise, superlative most edgewise)

  1. Edgeways.
    • By placing the sword edgewise, the weaver keeps the countershed open, in order to shoot through the shuttle.2013 November 11, Claus-Dieter Brauns, “Food and Clothing”, in Mru: Hill People on the Border of Bangladesh, Basel: Birkhäuser, page 131
  2. As if by an edge.
    • Once his boss got started, Jim just couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
    Synonyms:
    edgeways

Adjective

edgewise (not comparable)

  1. Edgeways.

Synonyms of edgewise

Forms of edgewise

comparativemore edgewise
superlativemost edgewise

Origin of edgewise

From edge + -wise. Compare English edgeling (“edgeways”) and edgelong.

Words formed from edgewise

Phrases with edgewise

Questions about edgewise

What does edgewise mean?
Edgewise means edgeways.
What part of speech is edgewise?
Edgewise can be an adverb or an adjective.
How do you pronounce edgewise?
Edgewise is pronounced /ˈɛdʒwaɪz/ (UK).

Words near edgewise in the dictionary

  1. Edgewater
  2. Edgewater Park
  3. edgeway
  4. edgeways
  5. edgewear
  6. edgewise
  7. Edgewood
  8. edgework
  9. Edgeworth
  10. Edgeworth-Kuiper belt
  11. Edgeworth-Kuiper object

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: edgewise (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-edgewise.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-edgewise.wav.

Cite this entry: “edgewise.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/edgewise. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.