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 Sacramento City Unified School District is on the brink of fiscal insolvency, and a California state government financial agency is urging the city school board to request a state loan immediately. —Chris Fusco. Story Produced With Ai Assistance, Sacbee.com, 11 May 2026

To be sure, this doesn’t necessarily mean China is on the brink of a Lehman Brothers-style crisis. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 11 May 2026

That moment came as the second half began in Game 3 on Saturday night, a 131-108 Thunder win that pushed the Lakers to the brink of elimination. —Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 10 May 2026

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggered the most serious crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when many people feared the world was on the brink of nuclear war. —Reuters, NBC news, 10 May 2026

Rhymes for the brink

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