on the verge of
idiom
: at the point when (something) is about to happen or is very likely to happen
The company was on the verge of going bankrupt.
The child was on the verge of tears.
We were on the verge of divorce.
Examples of on the verge of in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
House of the Dragon, the massively successful prequel to HBO’s biggest show ever, Game of Thrones, is on the verge of debuting its second season, and a third show set in that world recently cast its two leads.
—
Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 May 2024
Basic goods including food and life-saving medication are dwindling; nearly 2 million Haitians are on the verge of famine.
—Dánica Coto, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 May 2024
Advertisement In recent months, the center, which serves families that are homeless or on the verge of homelessness, has seen increasing numbers of people in need of assistance.
—Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2024
Almost every time a character or place in town is on the verge of becoming too self-consciously twee — the local convent has a yoga studio, and two nuns in the kitchen who trained under Jamie Oliver — the show finds a way to reveal some specific, extremely human detail about them.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024
The teens, who had been on the verge of calling 911, told him they were headed to prom, Rintamaki says.
—Danielle Jennings, Peoplemag, 8 May 2024
Wildflower, a New York real estate developer, was on the verge of signing a lease with Tesla to build a charging center near the intersection of Interstates 278 and 495 in Queens.
—Ivan Penn, New York Times, 4 May 2024
Within a week of landing near the south pole, Odysseus was on the verge of powering down for good.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
Weinbrenner was on the verge of becoming a casualty of foreign competition until 1988 when a group of area business leaders bought the company.
—Journal Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2024
Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 May 2024
Basic goods including food and life-saving medication are dwindling; nearly 2 million Haitians are on the verge of famine.
—Dánica Coto, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 May 2024
Advertisement In recent months, the center, which serves families that are homeless or on the verge of homelessness, has seen increasing numbers of people in need of assistance.
—Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2024
Almost every time a character or place in town is on the verge of becoming too self-consciously twee — the local convent has a yoga studio, and two nuns in the kitchen who trained under Jamie Oliver — the show finds a way to reveal some specific, extremely human detail about them.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024
The teens, who had been on the verge of calling 911, told him they were headed to prom, Rintamaki says.
—Danielle Jennings, Peoplemag, 8 May 2024
Wildflower, a New York real estate developer, was on the verge of signing a lease with Tesla to build a charging center near the intersection of Interstates 278 and 495 in Queens.
—Ivan Penn, New York Times, 4 May 2024
Within a week of landing near the south pole, Odysseus was on the verge of powering down for good.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
Weinbrenner was on the verge of becoming a casualty of foreign competition until 1988 when a group of area business leaders bought the company.
—Journal Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'on the verge of.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near on the verge of
Cite this Entry
“On the verge of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20the%20verge%20of. Accessed 16 May. 2024.
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