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 researchers looked beyond climate change and greenhouse gas emissions to factors including biodiversity, land use, water quality and agricultural pollution — and concluded that food systems are the biggest culprit in pushing Earth to the brink of thresholds for a livable planet. —Dave Smith, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2025

On Tuesday night, Boston put itself on the brink of eliminating the Yankees for a fourth consecutive time. —Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025

Both teams’ seasons are on the brink with the elimination Game 3 looming Thursday. —Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

Animals and plants on the brink of extinction can be given another chance when people take action. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 2 Oct. 2025