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.
Galthie, a deep thinker who reads philosophy and classical literature, has admitted he believes in an innate French characteristic, to fight hardest and best when pushed to the brink.
From BBC
It seemed, at the time, like he was on the brink of his long-awaited breakout.
From Los Angeles Times
Arenas would do his best to drag USC back from the brink.
From Los Angeles Times
The conflict with Iran throttled one of the key shipping routes for global energy and brought the world to the brink of a shock.
Others believe he drove the business to the brink of destruction on the back of a lucrative deal that would prove to be the company's undoing, then walked away with millions.
From BBC
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.
