cutting edge

noun
1.
the sharp edge of a cutting implement.
2.
forefront; lead:
on the cutting edge of computer technology.
Origin
1950-55
Related forms
cutting-edge, adjective
Examples from the web for cutting edge
  • Tobacco companies learned early to situate themselves at the cutting edge of advertising.
  • As far as global innovation is concerned, perhaps a few dozen places worldwide really compete at the cutting edge.
  • However, my sense is that these efforts remain far more at the cutting edge than they should.
  • The repeated testing of knowledge by experiment, he insisted, is the cutting edge of learning.
  • School districts that took their advice were hailed as being on the cutting edge of educational theory and practice.
  • Most scientific disputes that concern the public are at the cutting edge-the place where things are not completely certain.
  • Without courage to try new things, an organization cannot be entrepreneurial and cutting edge.
  • Nonetheless, molecular gastronomy marks the cutting edge of epicurism these days.
  • Spirit was no longer cutting edge technology by the time it was launched, never mind now.
  • Venter deserves credit for being the first to use a cutting edge computer technology to engineer and dictate a new lifeform.
British Dictionary definitions for cutting edge

cutting edge

noun
1.
the leading position in any field; forefront: on the cutting edge of space technology
adjective
2.
at the forefront of people or things in a field of activity; leading: cutting-edge technology
Word Origin and History for cutting edge

also cutting-edge, 1825 in the literal sense (often at first with reference to plows); figurative sense is from 1964.