brink

CEFRC1

/ˈbɹɪŋk/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The edge of a dangerous situation or place.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A surname.

Examples

  • The man was on the brink of death.

  • When we were on the brink of starvation, they saved our lives.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2

Also pronounced

  • [ˈbɹʷiŋk] ~ [ˈbɹʷɪ̝ŋk]
  • /ˈbɹeɪ̯ŋk/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The edge or border.

  2. The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge.

More examples

In context

  • the brink of a river

  • the brink of success

  • And the appearance of it much comforted us, especially seeing so goodly a land, and wooded to the brink of the sea.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The hiker stood on the blank of the steep cliff.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English brinke, brenke, from Old Norse *brenka, brekka, from Proto-Germanic *brinkǭ, *brinkaz (“hill, edge (of land)”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰren- (“to project”). Cognate with Dutch brink (“grassland”), regional German Brink, Icelandic brekka (“slope”); also Tocharian B prenke (“island”), Irish braine (“prow”).