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
Arenas would do his best to drag USC back from the brink.
—
Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Keeping hope alive is the answer to suicidality, not only for individuals who might want to kill themselves, but for a nation on the brink of self destruction.
—Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
If the war does escalate and bring the regime to the brink of collapse, the odds will grow that the Iranian state fragments.
—Thomas Wright, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
After Hartford HealthCare acquired Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals in January, the UConn Health deal marked the final step in a lengthy search to find buyers for Prospect’s Connecticut hospitals — a process that often seemed on the brink of failure.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 5 Mar. 2026
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Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Keeping hope alive is the answer to suicidality, not only for individuals who might want to kill themselves, but for a nation on the brink of self destruction.
—Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
If the war does escalate and bring the regime to the brink of collapse, the odds will grow that the Iranian state fragments.
—Thomas Wright, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
After Hartford HealthCare acquired Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals in January, the UConn Health deal marked the final step in a lengthy search to find buyers for Prospect’s Connecticut hospitals — a process that often seemed on the brink of failure.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for the brink
Cite this Entry
“The brink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20brink. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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