fringe noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of fringe noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

fringe

noun
 
/frɪndʒ/
 
/frɪndʒ/
Idioms
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  1. [countable, usually singular] (British English)
    (North American English bangs [plural])
    the front part of somebody’s hair that is cut so that it hangs over their forehead
    • She stared at us from beneath her fringe.
    Extra Examples
    • My fringe needs cutting.
    • She has her hair pulled forward in a fringe.
    • She kept brushing her fringe off her forehead.
    Topics Appearancec2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • heavy
    • thick
    • floppy
    verb + fringe
    • grow out
    • cut
    • trim
    preposition
    • from beneath your fringe
    • from under your fringe
    See full entry
  2. [countable] a narrow border of hanging threads attached to the edge of something to decorate it
  3. [countable] a narrow area of trees, buildings, etc. along the edge of something
    • a fringe of woodland
    • Along the coast, an industrial fringe had already developed.
    • Beyond this marginal fringe no agriculture is possible.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • outer
    • radical
    • eastern
    verb + fringe
    • remain on
    fringe + noun
    • area
    • group
    • meeting
    preposition
    • along the fringe
    • around the fringe
    • beyond the fringe
    See full entry
  4. [countable] the outer edge of an area or a group
    • The factories are located on the northern fringes of the city.
    • the urban/rural fringe
    • These people live on the fringes of society.
    • Nina remained on the fringe of the crowd.
    Extra Examples
    • They pitched their tents at the fringe of the open fields.
    • the forests along the eastern fringe of the Andes
    • new housing around the urban fringe
    • They are a small group existing on the fringes of political life.
    • He has always remained on the fringes of mainstream politics.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • outer
    • radical
    • eastern
    verb + fringe
    • remain on
    fringe + noun
    • area
    • group
    • meeting
    preposition
    • along the fringe
    • around the fringe
    • beyond the fringe
    See full entry
  5. [singular]
    (usually the fringe)
    groups of people, events and activities that are not part of the main group or activity
    • Street musicians have been gathering as part of the festival fringe.
    • fringe meetings at the party conference
    Extra Examples
    • He moved from fringe theatre to mainstream when he was chosen to play a leading role on Broadway.
    • the delinquent fringe of the Nationalist Party
    CultureThe performances at the Edinburgh International Festival that are not part of the official programme are called the Fringe. These performances are often more experimental than the official events, and are often organized by small groups of people who are not well known, though some become famous after performing at the Fringe.see also Beyond the Fringe
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • outer
    • radical
    • eastern
    verb + fringe
    • remain on
    fringe + noun
    • area
    • group
    • meeting
    preposition
    • along the fringe
    • around the fringe
    • beyond the fringe
    See full entry
  6. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French frenge, based on late Latin fimbria, earlier a plural noun meaning ‘fibres, shreds’.
Idioms
the lunatic fringe noun
  1. [singular + singular or plural verb] (disapproving) those members of a political or other group whose views are considered to be very extreme and crazy
    • They stressed that only the lunatic fringe of the movement was involved in the incident.
See fringe in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee fringe in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
glimpse
noun
 
 
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