on the brink

A form of on the brink of — Very near, imminently approaching; ready to, about to.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. alternativeAlternative form of on the brink of.
  2. alternativeAlternative form of on the edge.

    Bobbery's on the brink, ain't he, mate? I 'oped he'd pull through, but...

    2004, Intelligent Systems, translated by Nintendo of America, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo, GameCube
    2 more examples

    Rich countries must sign a “historic pact” with the poor on the climate, or “we will be doomed”, the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has warned, as a deepening gulf between the developed and developing world has put climate talks on the brink.

    2022 November 4, Fiona Harvey, “UN chief warns ‘we will be doomed’ without historic climate pact”, in The Guardian

    Germany is a nation on the brink. On Tuesday, perhaps unwittingly, a handful of members of parliament decided to see how much further they could push it.

    2025 May 7, Mark Sappenfield, “Merz wins in vote that reveals the challenges ahead for Germany”, in The Christian Science Monitor

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
on the point of
Cite this entry
APA

on the brink. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20brink

MLA

“on the brink.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20brink. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on the brink,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20brink.

Source: on the brink on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.