fringe JUST WRITTEN FOR YOU
/fɹɪndʒ/ · fringe
noun
- Hair hanging over the forehead; a hairstyle that includes such hair, especially when cut straight across the forehead. She brushed her fringe to one side before the interview.
- A decorative border, often of threads or tassels, applied to clothing, a picture, or other objects. The painting’s gold fringe added a touch of elegance to the gallery wall.
- A marginal or peripheral part of something. Astronomers study the fringe of the galaxy to learn about its outermost stars.
- Members of a political party or social group who hold unorthodox or extreme views. The party’s fringe pushed for policies that most members considered too radical.
- A colloquial term for brucellosis, a bacterial disease transmitted from animals to humans. The veterinarian warned the farmer that untreated cattle could give workers fringe.
verb
- To decorate something with a fringe. She fringed the curtains with silk tassels for the theater production.
- To serve as a fringe; to form the outer edge of something. Tall pines fringe the lake, providing a natural windbreak.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Did you know? The word ‘fringe’ originally described the edge of a piece of cloth in the 14th century, and its later extension to hair and political outliers reflects how language borrows the idea of an outer edge for many different contexts.