Edge vs. Nick — What's the Difference?
By Maham Liaqat & Fiza Rafique — Updated on May 21, 2024
Edge refers to the boundary line of a surface, while nick is a small cut or notch on a surface. Edge denotes a limit or border, whereas nick indicates minor damage or imperfection.
Difference Between Edge and Nick
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Key Differences
Edge refers to the outermost boundary of an object, typically where two surfaces meet. It often implies a sharp or defined limit, such as the edge of a table or a knife. On the other hand, nick is a small, shallow cut or indentation on a surface, indicating a minor imperfection or damage, like a nick in a piece of wood.
Edge can denote a position of advantage or a critical point, such as having an edge in competition. In contrast, nick usually has a more neutral or negative connotation, referring to minor damage that doesn’t necessarily confer any advantage, like a nick on a car door.
Edges are often associated with precision and sharpness, highlighting the boundary between two areas. For instance, the edge of a razor blade is designed to be extremely sharp. Meanwhile, a nick disrupts this sharpness, representing an unintended deviation, like a nick on the razor blade affecting its performance.
Edges can be physical or metaphorical, such as the edge of a cliff or someone being on edge due to stress. A nick, however, is typically physical, representing a tangible flaw or mark, such as a nick on a piece of furniture.
Comparison Chart
Definition
Boundary line of a surface
Small cut or notch on a surface
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Connotation
Can imply sharpness or precision
Implies minor damage or imperfection
Usage
Physical or metaphorical boundaries
Usually physical, indicating damage
Advantage
Can denote a position of advantage
Rarely associated with advantage
Context
Edge of a table, knife, competition
Nick in wood, metal, or any surface
Compare with Definitions
Edge
The boundary line where two surfaces meet.
The edge of the table was smooth and rounded.
Nick
A small cut or notch.
He noticed a nick on the corner of his desk.
Edge
The sharp side of a blade or cutting instrument.
Be careful with the edge of that knife; it’s very sharp.
Nick
A slight defect or imperfection.
The metal surface had a few nicks but was otherwise in good condition.
Edge
The brink or verge of something.
They stood at the edge of the cliff, looking out at the sea.
Nick
A small, shallow incision.
There was a nick in the leather of the old chair.
Edge
The outside limit of an object, area, or surface
She perched on the edge of a desk
A willow tree at the water's edge
Nick
Nick is a masculine given name. It is also often encountered as a short form (hypocorism) of the given names Nicholas, Nicola, Nicolas, Nikola, Nicolai or Nicodemus.
Edge
The sharpened side of the blade of a cutting implement or weapon
A knife with a razor-sharp edge
Nick
A small cut or notch
A small nick on his wrist
Edge
A quality or factor which gives superiority over close rivals
His cars have the edge over his rivals'
Nick
Prison
He'll end up in the nick for the rest of his life
Edge
Provide with a border or edge
The pool is edged with paving
Nick
The junction between the floor and side walls in a squash court or real tennis court.
Edge
Move or cause to move gradually or furtively in a particular direction
Hazel quietly edged him away from the others
She tried to edge away from him
Nick
Make a nick or nicks in
He had nicked himself while shaving
Edge
Give an intense or sharp quality to
The bitterness that edged her voice
Nick
Steal
She nicked fivers from the till
Edge
Strike (the ball) with the edge of the bat; strike a ball delivered by (the bowler) with the edge of the bat
Haynes edged to slip
He edged a ball into his pad
Nick
Arrest (someone)
Stuart and Dan got nicked for burglary
Edge
Ski with one's weight on the edges of one's skis
You will be edging early, controlling a parallel turn
Nick
Go quickly or surreptitiously
They nicked across the road
Edge
A thin, sharpened side, as of the blade of a cutting instrument.
Nick
A shallow notch, cut, or indentation on an edge or a surface
Nicks in the table.
Razor nicks on his chin.
Edge
The degree of sharpness of a cutting blade.
Nick
Chiefly British Slang A prison or police station.
Edge
A penetrating, incisive quality
"His simplicity sets off the satire, and gives it a finer edge" (William Hazlitt).
Nick
(Printing) A groove down the side of a piece of type used to ensure that it is correctly placed.
Edge
A slight but noticeable sharpness, harshness, or discomforting quality
His voice had an edge to it.
Nick
To cut a nick or notch in.
Edge
Keenness, as of desire or enjoyment; zest
The brisk walk gave an edge to my appetite.
Nick
To cut into and wound slightly
A sliver of glass nicked my hand.
Edge
The line or area farthest away from the middle
Lifted the carpet's edge.
Nick
To cut short; check
Nicked an impulse to flee.
Edge
The line of intersection of two surfaces
The edge of a brick.
Nick
(Slang) To cheat, especially by overcharging.
Edge
A rim or brink
The edge of a cliff.
Nick
To steal.
Edge
The point at which something is likely to begin
On the edge of war.
Nick
To arrest.
Edge
A margin of superiority; an advantage
A slight edge over the opposition.
Nick
A small cut in a surface.
Edge
To give an edge to (a blade); sharpen.
Nick
A particular place or point considered as marked by a nick; the exact point or critical moment.
In the nick of time
Edge
To tilt (a ski or both skis) in such a way that an edge or both edges bite into the snow.
Nick
A notch cut crosswise in the shank of a type, to assist a compositor in placing it properly in the stick, and in distribution.
Edge
To put a border or edge on
Edged the quilt with embroidery.
Nick
Senses connoting something small.
Edge
To act as or be an edge of
Bushes that edged the garden path.
Nick
(cricket) A small deflection of the ball off the edge of the bat, often going to the wicket-keeper for a catch.
Edge
To advance or push slightly or gradually
The dog edged the ball with its nose.
Nick
(genetics) One of the single-stranded DNA segments produced during nick translation.
Edge
To trim or shape the edge of
Edge a lawn.
Nick
The point where the wall of the court meets the floor.
Edge
To surpass or beat by a small margin. Often used with out
The runner edged her opponent out at the last moment.
Nick
Often in the expressions in bad nick and in good nick: condition, state.
The car I bought was cheap and in good nick.
Edge
To move gradually or hesitantly
The child edged toward the door.
Nick
A police station or prison.
He was arrested and taken down to Sun Hill nick [police station] to be charged.
He’s just been released from Shadwell nick [prison] after doing ten years for attempted murder.
Edge
The boundary line of a surface.
Nick
(Internet) nickname
A user’s reserved nick on an IRC network
Edge
(geometry) A one-dimensional face of a polytope. In particular, the joining line between two vertices of a polygon; the place where two faces of a polyhedron meet.
Nick
(archaic) A nix or water]] spirit.
Edge
An advantage.
I have the edge on him.
Nick
(transitive) To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.
I nicked myself while I was shaving.
Edge
The thin cutting side of the blade of an instrument, such as an ax, knife, sword, or scythe; that which cuts as an edge does, or wounds deeply, etc.
Nick
(transitive) To make ragged or uneven, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to deface, to mar.
Edge
A sharp terminating border; a margin; a brink; an extreme verge.
The cup is right on the edge of the table.
He is standing on the edge of a precipice.
Nick
To make a crosscut or cuts on the underside of (the tail of a horse, in order to make the animal carry it higher).
Edge
Sharpness; readiness or fitness to cut; keenness; intenseness of desire.
Nick
To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
Edge
The border or part adjacent to the line of division; the beginning or early part (of a period of time)
In the edge of evening
Nick
To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at the precise point or time.
Edge
(cricket) A shot where the ball comes off the edge of the bat, often unintentionally.
Nick
To hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a fine deflection.
Edge
(graph theory) A connected pair of vertices in a graph.
Nick
To throw or turn up (a number when playing dice); to hit upon.
Edge
A level of sexual arousal that is maintained just short of reaching the point of inevitability, or climax.
Nick
To make a cut at the side of the face.
Edge
The point of data production in an organization (the focus of edge computing), as opposed to the cloud.
Nick
To steal.
Edge
(transitive) To move an object slowly and carefully in a particular direction.
He edged the book across the table.
The muggers edged her into an alley and demanded money.
Nick
To arrest.
The police nicked him climbing over the fence of the house he’d broken into.
Edge
(intransitive) To move slowly and carefully in a particular direction.
He edged away from her.
Nick
To give or call (someone) by a nickname; to style.
Edge
(usually in the form 'just edge') To win by a small margin.
Nick
An evil spirit of the waters.
Edge
To hit the ball with an edge of the bat, causing a fine deflection.
Nick
A notch cut into something
Edge
(transitive) To trim the margin of a lawn where the grass meets the sidewalk, usually with an electric or gas-powered lawn edger.
Nick
A broken or indented place in any edge or surface; as, nicks in a china plate; a nick in the table top.
Edge
(transitive) To furnish with an edge; to construct an edging.
Nick
A particular point or place considered as marked by a nick; the exact point or critical moment.
To cut it off in the very nick.
This nick of time is the critical occasion for the gaining of a point.
Edge
To furnish with an edge, as a tool or weapon; to sharpen.
Nick
To make a nick or nicks in; to notch; to keep count of or upon by nicks; as, to nick a stick, tally, etc.
Edge
(figurative) To make sharp or keen; to incite; to exasperate; to goad; to urge or egg on.
Nick
To mar; to deface; to make ragged, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to create a nick{2} in, deliberately or accidentally; as, to nick the rim of a teacup.
And thence proceed to nicking sashes.
The itch of his affection should not thenHave nicked his captainship.
Edge
To delay one's orgasm so as to remain almost at the point of orgasm.
Nick
To suit or fit into, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
Words nicking and resembling one another are applicable to different significations.
Edge
The thin cutting side of the blade of an instrument; as, the edge of an ax, knife, sword, or scythe.
He which hath the sharp sword with two edges.
Slander,Whose edge is sharper than the sword.
Nick
To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at the precise point or time.
The just season of doing things must be nicked, and all accidents improved.
Edge
Any sharp terminating border; a margin; a brink; extreme verge; as, the edge of a table, a precipice.
Upon the edge of yonder coppice.
In worst extremes, and on the perilous edgeOf battle.
Pursue even to the very edge of destruction.
Nick
To make a cross cut or cuts on the under side of (the tail of a horse, in order to make him carry it higher).
Edge
Sharpness; readiness or fitness to cut; keenness; intenseness of desire.
The full edge of our indignation.
Death and persecution lose all the ill that they can have, if we do not set an edge upon them by our fears and by our vices.
Nick
To nickname; to style.
For Warbeck, as you nick him, came to me.
Edge
The border or part adjacent to the line of division; the beginning or early part; as, in the edge of evening.
Nick
An impression in a surface (as made by a blow)
Edge
To furnish with an edge as a tool or weapon; to sharpen.
To edge her champion's sword.
Nick
A small cut
Edge
To shape or dress the edge of, as with a tool.
Nick
Cut slightly, with a razor;
The barber's knife nicked his cheek
Edge
To furnish with a fringe or border; as, to edge a dress; to edge a garden with box.
Hills whose tops were edged with groves.
Nick
Cut a nick into
Edge
To make sharp or keen, figuratively; to incite; to exasperate; to goad; to urge or egg on.
By such reasonings, the simple were blinded, and the malicious edged.
Nick
Divide or reset the tail muscles of;
Nick horses
Edge
To move by little and little or cautiously, as by pressing forward edgewise; as, edging their chairs forwards.
Nick
Mate successfully; of livestock
Edge
To move sideways; to move gradually; as, edge along this way.
Nick
A minor injury or scratch.
She got a nick on her finger while chopping vegetables.
Edge
To sail close to the wind.
I must edge up on a point of wind.
Nick
A mark or indentation.
The carpenter made a nick to mark the spot for drilling.
Edge
The boundary of a surface
Edge
A sharp side formed by the intersection of two surfaces of an object;
He rounded the edges of the box
Edge
A line determining the limits of an area
Edge
The attribute of urgency;
His voice had an edge to it
Edge
A slight competitive advantage;
He had an edge on the competition
Edge
A strip near the boundary of an object;
He jotted a note on the margin of the page
Edge
Advance slowly, as if by inches;
He edged towards the car
Edge
Provide with a border or edge;
Edge the tablecloth with embroidery
Edge
Lie adjacent to another or share a boundary;
Canada adjoins the U.S.
England marches with Scotland
Edge
Provide with an edge;
Edge a blade
Edge
A slight advantage or superior position.
Her extensive experience gave her an edge in the job interview.
Edge
A tense or nervous state.
The team was on edge as they awaited the final results.
Common Curiosities
What is an edge?
An edge is the boundary line where two surfaces meet, often implying sharpness or precision.
What is a nick?
A nick is a small cut or notch on a surface, indicating minor damage or imperfection.
Is a nick always physical?
Generally, yes. A nick typically refers to a tangible flaw or mark on a surface.
Can an edge be metaphorical?
Yes, an edge can represent a position of advantage or a critical point, such as having an edge in a competition.
Can nicks be repaired?
Often, yes. Minor nicks can be fixed with appropriate tools or materials.
Can edges become worn down?
Yes, edges can become dull or worn with use, affecting their sharpness or definition.
How does an edge differ from a nick in terms of advantage?
An edge can denote a slight advantage or superior position, while a nick usually indicates a minor damage without any advantageous implication.
Can an edge affect performance?
Yes, for instance, the sharp edge of a blade is crucial for its cutting performance.
Can a nick be used to mark something?
Yes, nicks are sometimes intentionally made to mark a spot for reference.
Do nicks affect the value of an item?
Nicks can decrease the value of items, especially if the item's appearance or functionality is affected.
Does a nick affect an object's functionality?
It can, especially if the nick interferes with the object's surface or structure, like a nick on a razor blade.
Is a nick considered serious damage?
Usually, nicks are minor and not considered serious, but their impact can vary based on context.
Are edges always sharp?
Not necessarily. Edges can be smooth or rounded, depending on the context.
Are edges important in design?
Yes, edges define the shape and structure of objects, playing a crucial role in design aesthetics and functionality.
Is an edge always visible?
Typically, yes. An edge is the visible boundary of a surface.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
