SINCE 1828
the brink
nounDefinition of the brink
: 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
Comments on the brink
What made you want to look up the brink? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Homophone Quiz
-
- In order to judge how people felt, the senator's office hired a firm to take a
______.
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
-
Homophone Quiz
More/moor than/then two/too/to.
Take the quiz -
Liar, Liar Quiz
Test your knowledge of words for lies, liars, and those being lied to. In other words, everyone.
Take the quiz -
Name That Thing
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
Take the quiz -
Citation
Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?
Play the game
Share the brink
Resources for the brink