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Glite Dictionary
on the verge of

on the verge of

144 3.8
Very close to doing or feeling something
  • idiom
translation icon : a punto de
  • Terri looks up at him, her eyes vulnerable, on the verge of tears.
  • on the verge of collapse
  • seem on the verge of
  • on the verge of extinction

And the big question is, are we on the verge of another pandemic?

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Examples

Synonyms

brink
vson the verge of
127 5.7

A point when an important or dangerous change is about to happen

describes closeness generally without the dramatic or physical edge feel
near
vson the verge of
111 1.0

Almost happening or becoming true

is used for being almost about to experience or do something
on the brink of
vson the verge of
52 4.5

Very close to something important or dangerous happening

expresses closeness without the strong sense of danger or change
on the edge of
vson the verge of
20 3.9

Very close to achieving something important

focuses on simple closeness rather than special achievement or shift
on the cusp of
vson the verge of
9 6.0

Close to reaching something important, like success or a big discovery

is about closeness generally, not specifically about transitions
on the point of
vson the verge of
4 3.6

About to do something very soon

is more general, covering closeness to events or feelings
at the threshold
vson the verge of
3 4.2

About to begin something new or important

highlights being near an event but not only the start moment
close at hand
vson the verge of
2 4.1

Likely to happen very soon

can also apply to emotional or experiential closeness, not just timing

Antonyms

distantly
9 3.8

From far away in place, time, or family connection

How Close

on the verge of
144 3.8

Surface Forms

on the verge of main

Morphology

on + the + verge + of

The phrase is compositionally built: 'verge' means a brink or threshold and the preposition 'on' indicates being at that location, with 'of' linking to the impending event, so the sense 'very close to' follows directly from the constituents. This locative/brink metaphor is common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish 'al borde de', French 'au bord de'), so a learner who knows the component words can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

On the verge of comes from the image of standing on the verge, the very edge of a cliff or a road. If you are right at that edge you are almost about to fall or step, so the phrase means 'very close to' or 'about to' happen.