brink

[ bringk ]

See synonyms for brink on Thesaurus.com

noun

the edge or margin of a steep place or of land bordering water.
any extreme edge; verge.

a crucial or critical point, especially of a situation or state beyond which success or catastrophe occurs: We were on the brink of war.

Origin of brink

1250–1300; Middle English brink<Old Norse (Danish ) brink, cognate with MLG brink edge, hillside, Old Norse brekka slope, hill

Other words from brink

brinkless, adjective

Words Nearby brink

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use brink in a sentence

She was sexually and verbally abused, leading her to the brink of suicide.
A Quorum For Change: The Fight For Global LGBT Equality | Justin Jones | December 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Emergent procedures provide their benefit right away and have the awesome potential to rescue a patient from the brink of death.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Risky Heart Surgery | Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD | November 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
It is conceivable, if highly unlikely, that most Palestinians will try to pull back from the brink.
Intifada 3.0: Growing Unrest and a Plot to Kill an Israeli Minister | Creede Newton | November 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile, their Missouri hometown appears to be on the brink of chaos.
Riot Prep Could Fuel Ferguson Violence | Caitlin Dickson | November 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But things were once a lot closer to the brink than most people knew.
I Saw Nuclear Armageddon Sitting on My Desk | Clive Irving | November 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

I swung down from my horse on the brink of the creek, cinched the saddle afresh, and rolled a cigarette.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
It was a hippopotamus which had been standing on the river-brink within six yards of the muzzle of his gun.
Hunting the Lions | R.M. Ballantyne
He sees no longer the brink of the abyss beside which the path of progress picks its painful way.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen Leacock
And presently we galloped across a mile or two of level grassland and pulled up on the very brink of Sage Creek canyon.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
On the opposite side of the stream, set back about thirty paces from the brink, stood a granite boulder.
Uncanny Tales | Various

British Dictionary definitions for brink

brink

/ (brɪŋk) /

noun

the edge, border, or verge of a steep place: the brink of the precipice
the highest point; top: the sun fell below the brink of the hill

the land at the edge of a body of water
the verge of an event or state: the brink of disaster

Origin of brink

C13: from Middle Dutch brinc, of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse brekka slope, Middle Low German brink edge of a field

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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