Dictionary

bleeding edge en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbliː.dɪŋ ɛd͡ʒ/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• (Australia) audio
• [ˈblɪi.dɪŋ ed͡ʒ] (Australia)
• /ˈbliː.dɪŋ ed͡ʒ/ (Australia)

Etymology

Blend of bleed + leading edge, and metaphorically alluding to the cutting edge (“forefront or position of greatest advancement in some field”) as a double-edged sword.

Meanings

1. The situation produced when the image extends beyond the nominal margin.
2. (idiomatic) Something too new and untested to be reliable or to have any assurance of safety; the figurative place where such things exist.
   • They would be the creators of strategy, generators of action and the bleeding edge of the church, ever pushing toward the front lines of conflict. 1968, Scott Francis Brenner, Ways of Worship for New Forms of Mission, page 79:
   • The motion-captured ape characters are the bleeding edge of digital effects, rarely short of impressive. 2017 July 7, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, “The Ambitious War For The Planet Of The Apes Ends Up Surrendering to Formula”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 27 Nov 2017:
   • on the bleeding edge (of something)
   • A few leading edge (some say "bleeding" edge) users have stepped into the arena and their experiences have helped sharpen our perception of what the electronic office can be. 1977, Infosystems, volume 24, page 64:

Forms

Coordinates

leading edge · cutting edge

Deriveds

bleeding-edge

Relateds

state of the art

Translations (2)

es vanguardia precaria (something too new and untested to be reliable) · pl bardzo nowoczesna rzecz (something too new and untested to be reliable)