brink
Americannoun
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the edge or margin of a steep place or of land bordering water.
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any extreme edge; verge.
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a crucial or critical point, especially of a situation or state beyond which success or catastrophe occurs.
We were on the brink of war.
noun
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the edge, border, or verge of a steep place
the brink of the precipice
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the highest point; top
the sun fell below the brink of the hill
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the land at the edge of a body of water
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the verge of an event or state
the brink of disaster
Other Word Forms
- brinkless adjective
Etymology
Origin of brink
1250–1300; Middle English brink < Old Norse ( Danish ) brink, cognate with MLG brink edge, hillside, Old Norse brekka slope, hill
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She covers cases across the East of England, from Chelmsford to Norfolk, but soon found the system she dreamed of working in was on the brink.
From BBC
He is sceptical both about the estimated cost of MPs staying in Parliament while the work is completed and suggestions the building is on the brink of a destructive conflagration.
From BBC
Students, worried whether they can find good jobs, soon joined in as protests began to spread, leaving the Iranian government on the brink of what could become another crackdown.
The Golden Globes came back from the brink of scandal.
From Los Angeles Times
The German was reportedly on the brink of being dismissed prior to a five-game unbeaten run that has taken Leeds seven points clear of the bottom three.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
