brink

 
Pronunciation: /brɪŋk/

noun

  • the extreme edge of land before a steep slope or a body or water: the brink of the cliffs at the brink of the pond I hesitated
  • a point at which something, typically something unwelcome, is about to happen; the verge: the country was on the brink of a constitutional crisis the club has come close to the brink, surviving winding-up orders

Origin:

Middle English: of Scandinavian origin