If you say that someone is on the edge of a precipice, you mean that they are in a dangerous situation in which they are extremely close to disaster or failure.
The banks brought the economy to the edge of a precipice.
The King now stands on the brink of a political precipice.
Synonyms: cliff, crag, rock face, cliff face More Synonyms of precipice
precipice in British English
(ˈprɛsɪpɪs)
noun
1.
a.
the steep sheer face of a cliff or crag
b.
the cliff or crag itself
2.
a precarious situation
Derived forms
precipiced (ˈprecipiced)
adjective
Word origin
C16: from Latin praecipitium steep place, from praeceps headlong
precipice in American English
(ˈprɛsəpɪs)
noun
1.
a vertical, almost vertical, or overhanging rock face; steep cliff
2.
a greatly hazardous situation, verging on disaster
Word origin
Fr précipice < L praecipitium < praeceps, headlong < prae-, before (see pre-) + caput, head (see chief)
Examples of 'precipice' in a sentence
precipice
In fact, it was teetering on the edge of a financial precipice.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In fact, it was teetering on the edge of a financial precipice.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This could tip them over the financial precipice.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
That will probably require the eurozone to move closer to the financial precipice.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It was like being taken to the top of a mountain only to find a steep precipice at your feet.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Higher and higher we climb, a steep precipice on one side.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
This range is rocky and abrupt throughout, but at the extremity it rises in height, and becomes a sheer precipice.
Lesley Adkins EMPIRES OF THE PLAIN: Henry Rawlinson and the Lost Languages of Babylon (2003)
(noun)
Definition
the very steep face of a cliff
The path had sheer rock on one side and a precipice on the other.