2a dangerous situation in which something very bad could happen 危局,险境
The stock market is on the edge of a precipice.
股市岌岌可危。
Examples from the Corpus
precipice• Above me, a precipice of unbroken rock.• Resting his weight on his bended knee, he was staringmotionless over a precipice towards the lake.• Ruth wanted to reach out and pull him back, as if he were moving towards a precipice.• The howlers were skirting the scaryprecipice of extinction.• I was privately grateful that it was too dark to make out the edge of the precipice.• A singleunwisemaneuver would have sent Robinson and his skiffplunging over the precipice.
Originprecipice
(1500-1600)FrenchLatinpraecipitium, from praeceps“headfirst”, from caput“head”