as in verge
an interval of time just before the onset of something was at the brink of death when the rescuers arrived

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brink And not ancient or biblical history either—the 20th century is ripe with examples of how the world was pushed to a moral, ethical, and existential brink, only for unsung champions to pull us all back to safety. Lauren Stienstra, Time, 17 Apr. 2025 Failure to act will push more seniors to the financial brink, further jeopardizing their health and well-being. Katie Dempsey, Boston Herald, 27 Mar. 2025 In its penultimate episode, Paradise pushed us to think about what humanity will succumb to if the climate crisis we’ve been so warned about hits its brink. Kathleen Newman-Bremang, refinery29.com, 21 Mar. 2025 Arresting climate change and the loss of species that will result is a critical step away from that brink, but one that policymakers and the public are embracing only slowly. Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 4 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for brink
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brink
verge
Noun
  • During the 2008 Great Financial Crisis, the federal government was compelled to rescue key companies vital to the nation’s economy, such as General Motors, Chrysler, Citigroup, and AIG, from the verge of collapse.
    Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 29 Aug. 2025
  • This time, Notre Dame (fifth in the coaches poll and sixth by the Associated Press) will face another Hurricanes bunch (10th in both polls) claiming to sit on the verge of ressurecting its glory of the 1980s and 1990s.
    Terence Moore, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Brink.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brink. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on brink

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!