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

But after the small island nation’s soccer team tied Spain and pushed Argentina to the brink of elimination in a knockout game, the sunswept country is known all over the world. — Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2026

The assassination of Qassem Suleimani brought the two countries to the brink of war. — Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026

As Jason’s obsession with the Box deepens, Daniela’s (Jennifer Connelly) growing paranoia pushes her to the brink, threatening to tear their fragile stability apart. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 9 July 2026

Once on the brink of collapse after a $300 million fraud scandal that forced it to delist from Nasdaq in 2020, the coffee chain has staged a sharp comeback. — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 8 July 2026

Rhymes for the brink

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