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
And a life on the brink of ending.
—
Suzette Hackney, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
But the brink of history can rattle the best of ’em.
—Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
The always watchable Zem (Other People’s Children) is strong as an obsessive intellectual whose theories drive him to push others to the brink, while Valeria Golino (a requisite for any Italian festival film these days) shows up as the aggrieved mother of a victim.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
Built around an all-in performance by Tedeschi, who repeatedly seems on the brink of going full Nicolas Cage but always pulls back at the last moment, Duse is an enjoyable but somewhat opaque take on an enigmatic Italian legend.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the brink
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Suzette Hackney, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
But the brink of history can rattle the best of ’em.
—Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
The always watchable Zem (Other People’s Children) is strong as an obsessive intellectual whose theories drive him to push others to the brink, while Valeria Golino (a requisite for any Italian festival film these days) shows up as the aggrieved mother of a victim.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
Built around an all-in performance by Tedeschi, who repeatedly seems on the brink of going full Nicolas Cage but always pulls back at the last moment, Duse is an enjoyable but somewhat opaque take on an enigmatic Italian legend.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the brink
Cite this Entry
“The brink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20brink. Accessed 7 Sep. 2025.
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