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
The mobility sector is at an unprecedented crossroads, at the brink of perhaps the perfect storm of technological, social, and economic disruption.
—
Sarwant Singh, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
Major Players is about two girls on the brink of adulthood and their mission to start a women’s soccer team.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 2 June 2025
Reliever Jake Dorn came in and retired the next batter, but that 35-minute half inning put Miami’s season on the brink.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 2 June 2025
Of greater concern, nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan came to the brink of war earlier this month in their most serious military confrontation in decades.
—David Rising, Arkansas Online, 31 May 2025
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Sarwant Singh, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
Major Players is about two girls on the brink of adulthood and their mission to start a women’s soccer team.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 2 June 2025
Reliever Jake Dorn came in and retired the next batter, but that 35-minute half inning put Miami’s season on the brink.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 2 June 2025
Of greater concern, nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan came to the brink of war earlier this month in their most serious military confrontation in decades.
—David Rising, Arkansas Online, 31 May 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 6 Jun. 2025.
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