Definition of brinkmanship
:the art or practice of pushing a dangerous situation or confrontation to the limit of safety especially to force a desired outcome
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noun
brink·man·ship
\
ˈbriŋk-mən-ˌship
\
variants:
or less commonly
brinksmanship
play
\ˈbriŋ(k)s-mən-\
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Examples of brinkmanship in a Sentence
two nations caught up in nuclear brinksmanship
Recent Examples of brinkmanship from the Web
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During the Obama years, there was a political logic to this sort of brinkmanship: Since voters tend to blame the president’s party for anything bad that happens on his watch, Democrats had more to lose from default than Republicans did.
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Brinkmanship and bluster have long been the hallmarks of North Korea’s strategy, but those words were from President Trump and directed at the government in Pyongyang.
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Even though the limit was increased in the nick of time then, the brinkmanship did significant economic harm.
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The shutdown stems from a brinkmanship between Mr. Christie, who is a Republican, and Vincent Prieto, the speaker of the State Assembly and a Democrat.
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Washington might be unusually strident with anti-trade brinkmanship, but Foxconn has been just as vocal.
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That has led to periodic brinkmanship over whether Congress would act in time to avoid disruption.
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That has led to periodic brinkmanship over whether Congress would act in time to avoid disruption.
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Although the Cold War flirted with nuclear brinkmanship, the challenges are even more dangerous today.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brinkmanship.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of brinkmanship
1956
BRINKMANSHIP Defined for English Language Learners
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