teetering on the brink/edge of

idiom

: close to being in a specified state or condition

The countries are teetering on the brink of war.

The bird is teetering on the edge of extinction.

Examples of teetering on the brink/edge of in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As my colleague Christi Carras reported all week from the Las Vegas convention at Caesars Palace, there has been constant chatter about theater operators teetering on the edge of insolvency. —Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024

At this point in the year, many find themselves at a crossroads, teetering on the edge of abandoning their resolutions and dreams. —Dr. Ruth Gotian, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024

The evacuation of the eight Americans, one Canadian and one French volunteer comes as Haiti is teetering on the brink of collapse. —Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024

After years of teetering on the brink of state collapse, there has been recent cause for hope in Guatemala, with the election of Bernardo Arévalo as president last August. —John Washington, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024

To hear Mayor Eric Adams tell it, the city is teetering on the edge of fiscal calamity, prompted largely by the costs of sheltering and feeding soaring numbers of migrants coming into the city. —Eliza Shapiro, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2024

The dramatic collapse of Mr. Armstrong’s empire mirrors the arc of the industry — a once-high-flying sector now tarred by scandal and teetering on the edge of mainstream relevance. —David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024

Still, the diversity is captivating - from Australian sea lions to various bird species, some teetering on the brink of extinction. —Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024

Then, Blinken watched disaster strike: In a shock result, Côte d’Ivoire collapsed against their regional adversaries, slumping to a 4-0 defeat and teetering on the brink of elimination from the continental competition. —Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2024