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

Half of the rocket’s software team was on the brink of quitting. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 22 June 2026

Then came this spring's historic and devastating floods across northern Michigan — in some areas, for the first time anyone can remember — swamping homes, pushing dams to the brink of failure and washing out roadways. — CBS News, 22 June 2026

Nine years ago, a consultant warned Fort Lauderdale that Fiveash was on the brink of failure. — Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 21 June 2026

After adorning the classic sneaker with various flower details including roses, cherry blossoms and bluebells, a new trio of women’s Air Force 1s is blooming at the brink of summer. — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 20 June 2026

Rhymes for the brink

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