perilously close to

idiom

somewhat formal
: at or to a point where one is in great danger of (something happening)
The company was perilously close to bankruptcy.
She came perilously close to drowning.

Examples of perilously close to in a Sentence

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Where are the teenagers of today supposed to spend their allowance and/or wander around aimlessly eating Auntie Anne's pretzels and getting yelled at by sales associates for coming perilously close to getting mustard on the merchandise? Emma Specter, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2025 Sunbeam's market share slide has brought it perilously close to being second-tier in categories like food processors and mixers. Matt Schifrin, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025 Munster’s Wilbur Wright Middle School team appeared chill during their lunch break, though some of the students veered perilously close to the comical side of trial-and-error. Michelle L. Quinn, Chicago Tribune, 7 Apr. 2025 One of the big questions scientists hope to answer about Mercury in the coming years is exactly what its surface is made of — and what that tells us about how the planet formed and evolved so perilously close to the sun’s heat and gravity. Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for perilously close to

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Cite this Entry

“Perilously close to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perilously%20close%20to. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

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