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

Forugh Farrokhzad’s The House Is Black (1967), Raymond Depardon’s gripping account of the last days of a psychiatric hospital on the brink of shutting down allows viewers access to a world otherwise hidden from the public. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 20 Jan. 2026

Philadelphia believed the former batting champion was on the brink of joining a potent lineup that already included Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner. —CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026

From late 2019 to the beginning of 2020, Betelgeuse dimmed so sharply that experts thought the star was on the brink of exploding in a supernova. —Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 20 Jan. 2026

The songs chronicle an age-gap relationship and a couple on the brink of losing one another, each with a more steamy and adult sound than characterized her Disney days. —Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026