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
However, with time running out and Arne Slot’s side on the brink of a damaging stalemate against Brentford, Nunez took centre stage to turn frustration into elation.
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James Pearce, The Athletic, 18 Jan. 2025
Years of debate, months of procrastination and weeks of panic have brought the U.S. to the brink of banning TikTok — a bipartisan achievement that top politicians suddenly want nothing to do with.
—Zachary Basu, Axios, 18 Jan. 2025
Doctors told ProPublica that because the laws’ language is often vague and not rooted in real-life medical scenarios, their colleagues are hesitating to act until patients are on the brink of death.
—Ziva Branstetter, ProPublica, 17 Jan. 2025
They were pushed to the brink by Boise State early, Ohio State at the midway point and Wisconsin late, then struggled to put away Penn State in the Big Ten championship.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2025
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James Pearce, The Athletic, 18 Jan. 2025
Years of debate, months of procrastination and weeks of panic have brought the U.S. to the brink of banning TikTok — a bipartisan achievement that top politicians suddenly want nothing to do with.
—Zachary Basu, Axios, 18 Jan. 2025
Doctors told ProPublica that because the laws’ language is often vague and not rooted in real-life medical scenarios, their colleagues are hesitating to act until patients are on the brink of death.
—Ziva Branstetter, ProPublica, 17 Jan. 2025
They were pushed to the brink by Boise State early, Ohio State at the midway point and Wisconsin late, then struggled to put away Penn State in the Big Ten championship.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for the brink
Dictionary Entries Near the brink
Cite this Entry
“The brink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20brink. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
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