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

That same reason has prevented him travelling to a first team camp in Austria, as opposed to him being on the brink of joining Real Madrid. — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Part of that time included navigating a season on the brink early in 2015. — Vahe Gregorian july 31, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026

But an increasing dependence on Ambien, and steady increases in dosages, led him to the brink of death in 2018. — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 30 July 2026

The reforms come as Cuba has been pushed to the brink by an oil blockade imposed by the United States in January. — ABC News, 29 July 2026

Rhymes for the brink

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