to sand the edge

4.9

To make a rough edge smooth by rubbing it with sandpaper

phrasal verb

: lijar el borde

To complete the project, I had to sand the edge so it would fit nicely against the wall.
sand the edge smoother

Examples

If you have the glass cut to size, be sure to sand the edges to prevent cut fingers.

Academic text (1994)
Make sure to sand the edge of the table to prevent any splinters from forming.
For a final touch, I light sanded the edges to prevent splinters.
After cutting the wood, be sure to sand the edge for a smooth finish.

Synonyms

to scrape

vsto sand the edge

62 1.2

To rub material off a surface with something hard or sharp

uses abrasive rubbing to smooth a narrow border rather than cutting or gouging

to sand

vsto sand the edge

27 3.5

To rub a surface with sandpaper to make it smooth

focuses on a narrow border area rather than whole surfaces

to buff

vsto sand the edge

17 4.4

To polish something by rubbing until it is smooth or shiny

focuses on rough border smoothing rather than producing a shiny finish

to grind down

vsto sand the edge

2 6.1

Wear a surface away slowly by rubbing, or make someone very tired

uses gentler rubbing and finer abrasives on a narrow border area

to sandpaper

vsto sand the edge

1 5.1

To rub a surface with rough paper to make it smooth

is aimed at a narrow border area rather than whole surfaces

to sand off

vsto sand the edge

1 4.7

To remove the top layer of something by rubbing it with sandpaper

smooths a narrow border without necessarily removing layers of material

to rub down

vsto sand the edge

4.4

To make a surface smooth by moving something over it

targets a narrow border area rather than smoothing large areas

to smoothen

vsto sand the edge

4.3

To make a surface flat and even by rubbing or polishing

is applied to a narrow border area rather than making broad regions even

Antonyms

to roughen

2 4.2

To make a surface not smooth so it feels bumpy

Surface Forms

sand the edge infinitive

sanded the edge past

sanded the edge past participle

sanding the edge present participle

sands the edge third person singular

Morphology

sand + the + edge

The verb 'sand' already means to smooth a surface with sandpaper and 'edge' denotes the boundary of a surface; their combination in a straightforward verb + object construction yields the meaning 'smooth the edge with sandpaper'. The article 'the' is semantically neutral here and this action-based composition is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Sand the edge comes from the literal job of rubbing sandpaper along a rough edge to make it smooth. So, when you hear 'sand the edge' it means 'to smooth the surface of an edge', for example to remove splinters and make the piece safe and neat.