brinkmanship

noun

brink·​man·​ship ˈbriŋk-mən-ˌship 

variants or less commonly brinksmanship

ˈbriŋ(k)s-mən-ˌship 

: the art or practice of pushing a dangerous situation or confrontation to the limit of safety especially to force a desired outcome

Examples of brinkmanship in a Sentence

two nations caught up in nuclear brinksmanship

Recent Examples on the Web

There was only fear and last minute brinkmanship. —Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025

Potential buyers will be hoping Arsenal will blink first and reduce their demands and the game of brinkmanship continues. —James McNicholas, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025

Iran may dash for a nuclear bomb in a desperate attempt to build a deterrent or pursue more aggressive nuclear brinkmanship to extract concessions from the international community. —Hasan T. Alhasan, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2025

All this brinkmanship has made major global development actors like the Paris Club of rich creditor nations determined not to recognize Afreximbank as a classic multilateral development bank. —Bright Simons, semafor.com, 9 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for brinkmanship

• authorship
• battleship
• censorship
• chairmanship
• chieftainship
• comradeship
• consulship
• craftsmanship
• dealership
• draftsmanship
• fellowship
• fingertip

Kids Definition

brinkmanship

noun

brink·​man·​ship ˈbriŋk-mən-ˌship 

: the practice of pushing a dangerous situation to the limit of safety before stopping