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

In Volume 2 of Stranger Things season 5, Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton's characters (who have been dating since season 2) make some major confessions to each other while on the brink of death. —Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 26 Dec. 2025

Once on the brink of closure, Redeemer's free lunch program for the homeless and hungry now draws more than 200 people a week, and a new, free drop-in mental health clinic operates from offices on-site. —Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 23 Dec. 2025

For help, borrowers, especially those on the brink of default, should call their loan servicer immediately, experts said. —Medora Lee, USA Today, 21 Dec. 2025

Chinese solar businesses hailed progress in combating cutthroat competition that has sent prices for panels plummeting, but which has also left several companies on the brink of collapse. —Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 19 Dec. 2025