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
Grace Lutheran faces uncertain future Barker's resignation comes as his former church of nine years, Grace Lutheran, is likely on the brink of closure, facing the same headwinds shuttering many other mainline Protestant churches.
—
Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 21 Aug. 2025
By the end of 2021, Mangia – a long-running Italian-American restaurant now located in Berry Hill – was on the brink of closure.
—Laura L. Davis, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Khalid Waleed, an energy economist at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad, says any tax on solar panels could deter Pakistanis who are on the brink of being able to afford this technology.
—Betsy Joles, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025
Aaronson is on the brink of good minutes with the USMNT, too.
—Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the brink
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Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 21 Aug. 2025
By the end of 2021, Mangia – a long-running Italian-American restaurant now located in Berry Hill – was on the brink of closure.
—Laura L. Davis, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Khalid Waleed, an energy economist at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad, says any tax on solar panels could deter Pakistanis who are on the brink of being able to afford this technology.
—Betsy Joles, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025
Aaronson is on the brink of good minutes with the USMNT, too.
—Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2025
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 6 Sep. 2025.
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