on edge
"on-edge" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“on edge” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tense, nervous; consequently irritable.
Corpus desk
Index EN-on-edge · on edge · English
on edge · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "O" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | on edge |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep_phrase |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “on edge” in English
Rare enough to double-check
on edge is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Tense, nervous; consequently irritable.".
Zero misspellings are on record for on edge in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is on edge, spelled O-N- -E-D-G-E.
Definition
- 1Tense, nervous; consequently irritable.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how on edge appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Waiting to see who had been chosen, we were all on edge.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.