Definition of "brink" []

• The upper edge of a steep or vertical slope: the brink of a cliff. (noun)
• The margin of land bordering a body of water. (noun)
• The point at which something is likely to begin; the verge: "Time and again the monarchs and statesmen of Europe approached the brink of conflict” ( W. Bruce Lincoln). See Synonyms at border. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Kevin Nolan double puts Newcastle on the title brink"
• "The only way we will move away from this brink is one step at at time …"
• "The only way we will move away from this brink is one step at at time, and no amount of wishful thinking is going to change that."