The sudden loss of his job brought him to the brink of ruin.

ruin 是名词，意思是"毁灭、破产、崩溃"，指完全失去财富、地位或希望的状态。这个词也可以指建筑物等的"废墟"。 bring sb. to the brink of ruin 这个短语字面意思是"把某人带到毁灭的边缘"，即"使某人濒临破产/崩溃"。