Meanings
- Very near, imminently approaching; ready to, about to.
on the brink of extinction
3 more examples
The old building seemed to be on the brink of collapse.
teetering on the brink of bankruptcy
So in a week's time she was beginning to hearken to her mother when she spoke of incantations and charms for restoring love. She kenned it was sin, but though not seven days syne she had sat at the Lord's table, so strong is love in a young heart that she was on the very brink of it.
1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
Synonyms & antonyms
Translations
Bulgarian на прага на
- на прага на (na praga na)very near to
Czech na pokraji, na hraně
- na pokrajivery near to
- na hraněvery near to
Danish på vippen
- på vippenvery near to
Finnish partaalla
- partaallavery near to
French au bord de
- au bord devery near to
Greek στο χείλος
- στο χείλος (sto cheílos)very near to
Irish ar shéala
- ar shéalavery near to
Latin futurus sum
- futurus sumvery near to
Polish na krawędzi, na skraju
- na krawędzivery near to
- na skrajuvery near to
Portuguese à beira de
- à beira devery near to
Russian на гра́ни
- на гра́ни (na gráni)very near to
Spanish a borde de, al borde de
- a borde devery near to
- al borde devery near to
- a punto devery near to
Cite this entry
on the brink of. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20brink%20of
“on the brink of.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20brink%20of. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on the brink of,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20brink%20of.
Source: on the brink of on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.