on the brink of
About to reach
On the brink of means at the very edge of, about to experience or enter into something significant: The company is on the brink of bankruptcy, Scientists are on the brink of a major breakthrough.
The phrase typically precedes momentous change, whether disaster or triumph.
Like standing at a cliff's edge, it suggests the next step will be decisive and irreversible.
- impendingSoon to occur
- imminentAbout to occur
- vergeBorder or cusp
- precipiceSteep rock face
- point of no returnThreshold beyond which reversal impossible
failure · financial ruin · watershed moment · threshold · breaking point · nervous breakdown · turning point · looming · inflection point · making history · extinction · total war · civil war · nuclear war · flashpoint · collapse · cusp · tipping point