on the brink
At the edge
On the brink means at the very edge of something, typically something dramatic or irreversible.
The phrase usually precedes disaster, war, collapse, or breakthrough: The company was on the brink of bankruptcy.
It conveys imminence—whatever follows is about to happen.
Scientists say we're on the brink of a major discovery.
- touch-and-goUncertain and risky
- hanging by a threadNearly failing or ending
- close callDisaster narrowly averted
- abyssImmeasurably profound depth
- hairsbreadthExtremely small distance
threshold · one step away · crisis · about to snap · tipping point · precipice · imminence · breaking point · final straw · do or die · make or break · within reach · flashpoint · life support · verge · knife-edge · cliff · point of no return
- Precariousnessprecarious, unstable, teetering, tottering, wobbly
- almost therealmost, nearly, close, imminent, impending
- Pushing Limitsmax, peak, redline, breaking point, threshold
- extinctionmass extinction, dodo, extinct, extinction event, extinction rate
- approximationsabout, approximately, around, roughly, almost
on the brinkfar from
At great distance from
nowhere near · not even close · out of danger · out of the woods
on the brinkout of danger
in the clear · on solid ground · secure · stable · safe and sound