brink

[ bringk ]
/ brɪŋk /
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.

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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

brink·less, adjective

Words nearby brink

bring up to date, bring-and-buy sale, bringdown, bringing-up, brinjal, brink, brinkley, brinkman, brinkmanship, brinnin, brinny
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to brink

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

Example sentences from the Web for brink

British Dictionary definitions for brink

brink
/ (brɪŋk) /

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