brink

[bringk]

SEE MORE 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

Related formsbrink·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for brink

threshold, fringe, periphery, verge, perimeter, frontier, border, point, skirt, rim, limit, brim, lip, boundary, margin

Examples from the Web for brink

Contemporary Examples of brink

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
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
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
Meanwhile, their Missouri hometown appears to be on the brink of chaos.
Riot Prep Could Fuel Ferguson Violence
Caitlin Dickson
November 13, 2014
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

Historical Examples of brink

It was probably his daughter who led him back from the brink of the grave.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
It was on the brink of the Barrage itself that I spoke to Bailey.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
I followed with the others round the corner to arrive at the brink of the canyon.
American Notes
Rudyard Kipling
Calendar waddled to the brink of the stage, grunting with relief.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
We lightly debate, we hesitate, we yawn, unconscious of the brink.
Ruggles of Red Gap
Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for brink

brink

noun

the edge, border, or verge of a steep placethe brink of the precipice

the highest point; topthe sun fell below the brink of the hill

the land at the edge of a body of water

the verge of an event or statethe brink of disaster

Word Origin for 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

Word Origin and History for brink

early 13c., from Middle Low German brink "edge," or Danish brink "steepness, shore, bank, grassy edge," from Proto-Germanic *brenkon, probably from PIE *bhreng-, variant of root *bhren- "project, edge" (cf. Lithuanian brinkti "to swell").