Definition of "culminate"

culminate

/ˈkʌl.mɪnˌeɪt/

verb
third-person singular simple present culminates, present participle culminating, simple past and past participle culminated
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.
  Quotations
  As when his beams at noon / Culminate from the equator.
  1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […]; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873,
  The type of Cycads culminated in the Mesozoic
  1875, James Dwight Dana, Manual of Geology
  The house of Burgundy was rapidly culminating.
  1856, John Lothrop Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic. A History. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […]
  This culminates in a timetable change in December 2020, at which point EMR will introduce a sixth train each hour out of St Pancras.
  2019 October, Tony Miles, Philip Sherratt, “EMR kicks off new era”, in Modern Railways, page 53
3. (intransitive, figuratively) To reach a climax; to come to a decisive point, especially an end or conclusion.
  Quotations
  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.
  2006 September 12, “President Bush’s Reality”, in New York Times‎
4. (US, military, of an offensive, etc) To reach a point at which continued progress is not possible.
  Quotations
  Approaching from the south on foot, elements of the CG battalion were first to come into contact and their attack culminated because the rate and accuracy of the VC small arms fire. The CG battalions attempted two assaults to penetrate […]
  2014 August 15, Major Kevin R. Kilbride, Military Assistance Advisory Group-Vietnam (1954-1963): The Battle Of Ap Bac, Pickle Partners Publishing
  As a result, the attack culminated the first day without additional artillery support. The towns of Eclisfontaine and Epinonville were not held on the first day as originally directed in the Corps plan.
  2014 August 15, Major Bryan L. Woodcock, 91st Infantry In World War I--Analysis Of An AEF Division's Efforts To Achieve Battlefield Success [Illustrated Edition], Pickle Partners Publishing, page 33
5. (transitive) To finalize, bring to a conclusion, form the climax of.
  Quotations
  I would like to know if there are any true moralists who would like to correspond with someone who just instinctively feels there's something wrong somewhere in this unbenevolent world and wants to save it by culminating love and eradicating the captive emotions of the self (Ego).
  1986 April 26, Tony Marcus Antuan Haywood, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, page 18
  The announcement by Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott in Canberra culminated more than a fortnight of intensive political horse-trading.
  2010 September 7, “By the skin of her teeth”, in The Economist
adjective
not comparable
1. (anatomy) Relating to the culmen

Definition of "culminate"

culminate

verb

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

adjective