precariously

adverb

pre·​car·​i·​ous·​ly pri-ˈker-ē-əs-lē 

: in a precarious manner

These birds suspend their nests precariously among fine twigs …

—Michael Hansell

… the privilege of a tiny, precariously poised minority.

—Derek Bickerton

Waiters in white shirts and black vests roamed, trays balanced precariously but with utmost precision.

—Noah Charney

… it's now balancing precariously on the brink of extinction and has become the first-ever bumblebee to be declared endangered in the US.

—Laura Dennison

Examples of precariously in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest before the March international break left Spurs teetering precariously above the relegation zone. —Graham Ruthven, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2026

To my left, a girl was hawking chikanda out of a bag in a plastic dish mounted precariously on her head. —Literary Hub, 27 Mar. 2026

Now, there are new concerns as half of the Upper Township Beach Patrol headquarters hangs precariously over a steep cliff formed by relentless erosion. —Ryan Hughes, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2026

Balancing a MacBook Pro precariously on a cement rail, Villareal hunched over the machine and scrolled through lines of code. —Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for precariously

• hilariously
• vicariously
• variously