Meanings
brink1
plural brinks
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge.
the brink of a river
1 more example
And the appearance of it much comforted us, especially seeing so goodly a land, and wooded to the brink of the sea.
1622, Edward Winslow, William Bradford, Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth - figurativelyThe edge or border.
the brink of success
1 more example
As South Korea heads to the polls, can Lee Jae-myung bring the country back from the brink? [title]
2025 June 1, Raphael Rashid, “As South Korea heads to the polls, can Lee Jae-myung bring the country back from the brink?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
Brink2
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰren-“to project”
- Proto-Germanic*brinkǭ
- Old Norse*brenka
- Middle Englishbrinke
- Englishbrink
From Middle English brinke, brenke, from Old Norse *brenka, brekka, from Proto-Germanic *brinkǭ, *brinkaz (“hill, edge (of land)”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰren- (“to project”). Cognate with Dutch brink (“grassland”), regional German Brink, Icelandic brekka (“slope”); also Tocharian B prenke (“island”), Irish braine (“prow”).
More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian край, ръб
- край (kraj)edge
- ръб (răb)edge
Czech pokraj, hrana
- pokrajedge
- hranaedge
- okrajedge
Danish kant, rand
- kantedge
- randedge
Dutch rand, steile rand
- randedge
- steile randedge
Finnish reuna, parras
- reunaedge
- parrasedge
French bord, lisière
- bordedge
- lisièreedge
German Rand
- Randedge
Irish broinne, colbha
- broinneedge
- colbhaedge
Italian orlo, bordo
- orloedge
- bordoedge
- ciglioedge
Māori ripa tauārai
- ripa tauāraiedge
Portuguese beira
- beiraedge
Russian край, грань
- край (kraj)edge
- грань (granʹ)edge
Scottish Gaelic oir
- oiredge
Slovak pokraj, hrana
- pokrajedge
- hranaedge
- okrajedge
- hranicaedge
Spanish borde, límite
- bordeedge
- límiteedge
- topeedge
Swedish kant
- kantedge
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with brink
Cite this entry
brink. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brink
“brink.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brink. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brink,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brink.
Source: brink on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.