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

Miami’s rising cost of living is pushing many working residents to the brink of homelessness, despite full-time employment. —Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2025

The years-long conflict between the country’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has led to the world’s gravest humanitarian crisis, leaving hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of starvation. —semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2025

Contained in its 15 tracks is an exploration of the totality of the human spirit, pushed to the brink and brought back time and again. —Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025

In this moment, Ramza literally can’t grasp the idea of someone pushed to the brink, willing to do anything to simply survive — the poor must simply be making the wrong choices. —Hayes Madsen, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025