cutting edge

1. 1.

   the position of greatest importance or advancement; the leading position in any movement or field

   “the Cotswolds were once at the forefront of woollen manufacturing in England”

   “the idea of motion was always to the forefront of his mind and central to his philosophy”

   Synonymsvanguardforefront

   Broaderposition
2. 2.

   the sharp cutting side of the blade of a knife

   Synonymsknife edge

   Broaderedge

   Part ofbladeedge tool

Questions about cutting edge

What does cutting edge mean?

cutting edge means "the position of greatest importance or advancement; the leading position in any movement or field". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for cutting edge?

Close synonyms include vanguard, forefront, knife edge. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is cutting edge a common word?

cutting edge is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.