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

The Endangered Species Act is credited with bringing back iconic animals — including the bald eagle, American alligator and California condor — from the brink of extinction. — Matthew Brown, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026

Johnson, who a near decade ago was a bubbly ingenue on the brink of superstardom, has since developed a reputation for a certain cool-girl deadpan opacity, a kind of mischievous remove during press appearances. — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2026

Monster recasts Abby, played with wonderful mischief by Rebecca Hall, as a bitter woman on the brink. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026

Instead, much to its credit, the book unspools an unhurried, capacious story of human society’s collective journey to the brink of annihilation, and of the individuals and movements that have, so far, held us back from the edge. — Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for the brink

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