brink

Word family

brink /brɪŋk/ noun

1 the brink (of something) ALMOSTa situation when you are almost in a new situation, usually a bad one （某事物的）边缘〔一般指坏情况〕

on the brink of death/disaster/war etc

In October 1962 the world seemed on the brink of nuclear war.

1962年10月，世界似乎处于核战争的边缘。

The company had huge debts and was on the brink of collapse.

公司背负巨额债务，已濒临破产。

to the brink (of something)

managers who have taken their companies to the brink of disaster

使公司面临灾难的经理们

back 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).

他作为救我们于危难之中的领导人将名垂青史。

Examples from the Corpus

back from the brink (of something)• Several species have come back from the brink of extinction.• Polly drew herself back from the brink.• Some essential honesty about it brings it back from the brink.• As long as the Dodgers remained the Dodgers, there was hope baseball could pull itself back from the brink.• In a television address, he called on deputies to pull back from the brink.• Arlington Mill is one of those mills that was pulled back from the brink of destruction in the nick of time.• But some sort of step back from the brink was essential.

2. push/tip somebody over the brink to make someone start doing crazy or extreme things 把某人逼上绝路

3. the brink of something literaryEDGE the edge of a very high place such as a cliff 某（高）处〔如悬崖〕的边缘

Examples from the Corpus

the brink of something• Such vehicles appear to be at the brink of feasibility because of a rapidly maturing technology, the hydrogen-burning fuel cell.• Just when she had been on the brink of despair, one of her rich customers had given her a handsome order.• Her lips parted - trembling - as she hovered on the brink of speech.• Their house was perched on the brink of a canyon.• Oxford began the night teetering on the brink of the relegation zone and pulse rates soared as early as the second minute.• The country was on the brink of war; uncertainty permeated every aspect of daily life.• Wells was on the brink of death by consumption when his early work appeared.• One was summoned to the brink of the black.

Examples from the Corpus

brink• But some sort of step back from the brink was essential.• 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.• Is it really news that a couple on the brink of separation should be arguing about the custody of their children?• But when the bust came, he teetered with others on the brink of bankruptcy.• 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.• Some members say this decision has pushed them to the brink of deserting a church they love.

Origin brink

(1200-1300) Old Norse brekka “slope”

brink noun

Chinese

Corpus