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

Nearly every major contributor was unavailable after being used to the brink over the course of the homestand. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026

Here was a team unable to shake its bullpen blues, a club that has fought back from the brink only to again succumb to the same old flaws. — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Conservationists say one particularly prolific male is helping bring the species back from the brink of extinction. — Gina Park, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026

Cuba has been pushed to the brink by an oil blockade imposed by the United States in January on top of a decades-old embargo, coupled with the escalating sanctions. — Edith M. Lederer, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for the brink

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