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

Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull re-signed to reunite the core that carried to the brink of the 2025 Finals. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan brought the two countries to the brink of war last year, with the acrimony also spilling onto the cricket field. — ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

How to talk about an episode that takes us to the brink of oblivion — Cal, what the hell, man? — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026

The Braves went from potentially losing Chris Sale’s start and seeing their season on the brink to now possessing the upper hand, well positioned to finally get the last laugh on their northern rivals. — Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for the brink

• bethink
• downlink
• groupthink
• hoodwink
• rethink
• uplink
• blink
• chink
• cinque
• clink
• dink
• drink