Culminate

/ˈkʌl.mɪ.neɪt/ · verb

Meaning

(intransitive, astronomy) Of a heavenly body, to be at the highest point, reach its greatest altitude..

Definitions by Sense

1. (intransitive, astronomy) Of a heavenly body, to be at the highest point, reach its greatest altitude.
2. (intransitive) To reach the (physical or figurative) summit, highest point, peak etc.
3. (intransitive, figuratively) To reach a climax; to come to a decisive point, especially an end or conclusion.
4. (US, military, of an offensive, etc) To reach a point at which continued progress is not possible.
5. (transitive) To finalize, bring to a conclusion, form the climax of.
6. (anatomy) Relating to the culmen.
7. (biology) Growing upward, as opposed to lateral growth.

Example Sentences

As when his beams at noon / Culminate from the equator.

The type of Cycads culminated in the Mesozoic

The house of Burgundy was rapidly culminating.

This culminates in a timetable change in December 2020, at which point EMR will introduce a sixth train each hour out of St Pancras.

Their messy breakup culminated in a restraining order.

The class will culminate with a rigorous examination.

Mr. Bush has been marking the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11 with a series of speeches about terrorism that culminated with his televised address last night.

Born in 1866 in Pingdong County in the south of the island, Lin became an outlaw after a brief stint as a Qing dynasty official, but after the Japanese invasion in 1895 he used his bandit experience to organize guerrilla resistance. This culminated in successful attacks on Donggang in 1897, and Chaojhou in 1898 with an army of two thousand that included Paiwan and Hakka troops as well as Taiwanese.

Synonyms for culminate

Antonyms for culminate

Related Words

Word Forms

• culminates
• culminating
• culminated

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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