/ brɪŋk; NAmE / noun [ sing. ]
1.
the ~ (of sth) if you are on the brink of sth, you are almost in a very new, dangerous or exciting situation :
on the brink of collapse / war / death / disaster
Scientists are on the brink of making a major new discovery.
He's pulled the company back from the brink (= he has saved it from disaster) .
2.
( literary ) the extreme edge of land, for example at the top of a cliff or by a river :
the brink of the precipice
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IDIOMS
see teeter
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : of Scandinavian origin.