brinkbrink /brɪŋk/ ●○○ noun 
In October 1962 the world seemed on the brink of nuclear war. The company had huge debts and was on the brink of collapse.to the brink (of something) managers who have taken their companies to the brink of disasterback from the brink (of something) He will go down in history as the leader who pulled us back from the brink (=saved us from disaster).2push/tip somebody over the brink to make someone start doing crazy or extreme things3the brink of something literary the edge of a very high place such as a cliff
WORD ORIGINbrink
Origin:
1200-1300 Old Norse brekka ‘slope’EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- But some sort of step back from the brink was essential.
- But when the bust came, he teetered with others on the brink of bankruptcy.
- Is it really news that a couple on the brink of separation should be arguing about the custody of their children?
- LeBlond joined the company in 1975 and brought it from the brink of bankruptcy to its present robust status.
- New York, if you believe New Yorkers, is always on the brink of disaster.
- Some members say this decision has pushed them to the brink of deserting a church they love.
- The back row, from about the third day of classes on, teetered on the brink of chaos.
- They could even bring major states to the brink of war.
Longman Language Activatorwhen you have almost done something or something has almost happened
· I've almost finished reading the newspaper.· It was early 1945, and the war had nearly ended.
especially spoken not completely or exactly, but almost - use this when the difference is not important: · Hanson's acting career appears to be pretty much over.· I had more or less convinced her that I was telling the truth.
almost completely: · Communist parties have practically disappeared in Europe.· Mexico's rainforest has been virtually destroyed.
not completely, but almost - use this to say that something has not happened, but that it almost has: not quite done/finished etc: · She hasn't quite finished her homework yet.· Give me five minutes - I'm not quite ready.
: all but over/finished/done very nearly finished or done: · By now the war was all but over.· "Can we go home now?" "Just one moment - I've all but finished my work."
almost at or in a particular situation, especially an extreme one: · The police describe the situation as approaching crisis proportions.· Dr Dunstable was in a state nearing nervous collapse.· I felt close to tears as I read Vera's letter.
to be very close to an extremely bad situation: · The two countries are on the brink of war.be on the verge of tears/death/hysteria etc: · Kerry is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY In October 1962 the world seemed on the brink of nuclear war. The company had huge debts and was on the brink of collapse.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The economy is poised on the edge of collapse.
In October 1962 the world seemed on the brink of nuclear war. The company had huge debts and was on the brink of collapse. (=to be about to become completely confused and disorganized)· The peace talks were on the brink of chaos.
(=be almost ending in a very bad way)· Once again the peace process was on the brink of disaster.
(=be at the point of almost not existing)· The Siberian crane is on the verge of extinction due to hunting.
The economy is poised on the edge of collapse. (=be close to ruin)· The recession could leave many businesses on the brink of ruin.
(=be about to be involved in a war)· The country was on the brink of war.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSVERB· The aesthetic evidenced in these rooms has also brought us to the brink of World War Ill.· It was really my doing, or rather my drawings, that had brought us to this brink.· Meanwhile his birth comes to seem more and more impossible and Abraham on several occasions brings everything to the brink of disaster.· How can I have brought him to the brink of being, for all purposes, half an orphan?· LeBlond joined the company in 1975 and brought it from the brink of bankruptcy to its present robust status.
· Some members say this decision has pushed them to the brink of deserting a church they love.· Neither had Khrushchev, who also had hard-liners in Moscow pushing him toward the brink.
· The lads came up from the gill with buckets of water and stood a-row along the brink.· We stand on the brink of two momentous decisions at Maastricht.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► push/tip somebody over the brinkPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1the brink (of something) a situation when you are almost in a new situation, usually a bad oneon the brink of death/disaster/war etc- At the brink of the chasm the upper half of his body rose for an instant with the arms uplifted.
- Hendrique was on the brink of defeat.
- In the Life article, Dulles cited three instances of going to the brink.
- Is it really news that a couple on the brink of separation should be arguing about the custody of their children?
- Oxford began the night teetering on the brink of the relegation zone and pulse rates soared as early as the second minute.
- Philadelphia has been on the brink of going bust for months.
- We have people on the brink of ruin.
- Her lips parted - trembling - as she hovered on the brink of speech.
- Just when she had been on the brink of despair, one of her rich customers had given her a handsome order.
- One was summoned to the brink of the black.
- Oxford began the night teetering on the brink of the relegation zone and pulse rates soared as early as the second minute.
- Such vehicles appear to be at the brink of feasibility because of a rapidly maturing technology, the hydrogen-burning fuel cell.
- The country was on the brink of war; uncertainty permeated every aspect of daily life.
- Their house was perched on the brink of a canyon.
- Wells was on the brink of death by consumption when his early work appeared.
- The country is teetering on the brink of a massive financial crisis.
- A moment later, realising she was teetering on the brink of self-pity, she brought herself up short.
- As the piece opens, he is in an internment camp, and she is teetering on the edge of madness.
- He says that the country is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
- He was teetering on the brink of something serious.
- If it were as bad as its critics contend, our society would be teetering on the edge of extinction.
- Now he was teetering on the edge of the parapet.
- We are teetering on the edge of farce.
- Wednesday morning, during an hourlong session with reporters, Forbes appeared to be teetering on the edge of folding his campaign.
In October 1962 the world seemed on the brink of nuclear war. The company had huge debts and was on the brink of collapse.to the brink (of something) managers who have taken their companies to the brink of disasterback from the brink (of something) He will go down in history as the leader who pulled us back from the brink (=saved us from disaster).2push/tip somebody over the brink to make someone start doing crazy or extreme things3the brink of something literary the edge of a very high place such as a cliff