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 art world has been in a recession for 15 years, galleries are closing, young collectors are holding back, and artists trying to make it in the major market centers are living on the brink of poverty. —Magnus Resch, ARTnews.com, 27 Apr. 2026

Then one evening, the production teetered on the brink — an arrest, a cover-up, and a crisis that could have shut the film down entirely. —Tony Lee Moral, IndieWire, 27 Apr. 2026

The Lightning desperately needed to win Game 4 Sunday at Bell Centre, as dropping both games in Montreal would put their season on the brink, requiring them to win three straight. —Eduardo A. Encina, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026

While the result snaps a five-game winning streak across all competitions, the Revs are unbeaten in six, have picked up back-to-back road results, and have the credibility of having taken Lionel Messi and the star-studded, defending MLS Cup champions to the brink. —Julian Cardillo, Boston Herald, 26 Apr. 2026