brink

[bringk]

noun

1. the edge or margin of a steep place or of land bordering water.

2. any extreme edge; verge.

3. a crucial or critical point, especially of a situation or state beyond which success or catastrophe occurs.

   We were on the brink of war.

brink

/ brɪŋk /

noun

1. the edge, border, or verge of a steep place

   the brink of the precipice

2. the highest point; top

   the sun fell below the brink of the hill

3. the land at the edge of a body of water

4. the verge of an event or state

   the brink of disaster

Other Word Forms

• brinkless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of brink¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of brink¹

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

Example Sentences

The momentum has carried the team to the brink of a second consecutive World Series title.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Those cuts threaten to push the institution to the brink, according to its leaders.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"They took our prisons to breaking point, released thousands of serious offenders early and pushed Britain to the brink of a situation where police could no longer make arrests and courts could no longer prosecute."

Read more on BBC

Beijing and Washington agreed over the weekend to conduct a fresh round of trade talks this week as leaders attempt to walk back from the brink of another damaging tit-for-tat tariff battle.

Read more on Barron's

But England were on the brink of defeat, India needing 55 from 52 balls with Smriti Mandhana batting beautifully on 88.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• fringe 
• periphery 
• threshold 
• verge