the brink

noun

: the edge at the top of a steep cliff

—usually used figuratively to refer to a point that is very close to the occurrence of something very bad or (less commonly) very good

He nearly lost everything because of his drug addiction, but his friends helped to pull him back from the brink.

The two nations are on the brink of war.

Doctors may be on the brink of finding a cure for this disease.

an animal that has been brought/pulled back from the brink of extinction

Examples of the brink in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Indiana was pushed to the brink by Nebraska, but ended up winning 20-17 on the road Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. — Ryan Canfield Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026

The question now is whether these films will push that public perception even further toward the brink. — Stephen Desaulniers,julia Boorstin, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026

The biopic centers on charismatic auto industry executive Sergio Marchionne, played by Pierfrancesco Favino, who saved Fiat from the brink of bankruptcy. — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026

Game 2 included four errors to get pushed to the brink of elimination. — Stephen Whyno, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for the brink

• bethink
• downlink
• groupthink
• hoodwink
• rethink
• uplink
• blink
• chink
• cinque
• clink
• dink
• drink