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

In an ocean conservation victory, green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) have been brought from the brink of extinction. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Oct. 2025

All season, the Brewers have not made excuses, but now that the team is trailing 0-2 and their season is on the brink of ending, Pat Murphy has decided to remind fans of the payroll discrepancy between his team and the Dodgers. —Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025

Already on the brink California’s 67 rural hospitals have rarely been money-makers. —David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2025

Green turtles, once on the brink, bounce back Green turtles, once on the brink of extinction, have bounced back, a new report found. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2025