culminate

verb

cul·​mi·​nate ˈkəl-mə-ˌnāt 

culminated; culminating

intransitive verb

1

of a celestial body : to reach its highest altitude

During the summer solstice, the sun culminates over the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere.

also : to be directly overhead

2

a

: to rise to or form a summit

… enormous waves culminated and fell with the report of thunder.

—Frederick Marryat

b

: to reach the highest or a climactic or decisive point

Her long acting career culminated when she won the Oscar.

transitive verb

: to bring to a head or to the highest point

The contract culminated weeks of negotiations.

Did you know?

When a star or other heavenly body culminates, it reaches its highest point above the horizon from the vantage point of an observer on the ground. Culminate was drawn from Medieval Latin culminare, meaning "to crown," specifically for this astronomical application. Its ultimate root is Latin culmen, meaning "top." Today, the word’s typical context is less lofty: it can mean “to reach a climactic point,” as in “a long career culminating in a prestigious award,” but it can also simply mean "to reach the end of something,” as in “a sentence culminating in a period.”

Synonyms

• cap (off)
• climax
• crown

Examples of culminate in a Sentence

A bitter feud culminated months of tension.

culminated the school year with a trip to New York

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1993, Billings, Montana endured a rash of white supremacist activity culminating in a December attack on a Jewish home, where a brick was thrown through a window with a menorah in it. —Joshua M. Davidson, New York Daily News, 29 Dec. 2024

The movie culminates with the 1965 Newport Folk festival, in which Dylan gets booed by the audience after playing an electric guitar instead of an acoustic guitar. —Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 25 Dec. 2024

That was the scene to behold at the 16th edition of the Kensington Derby, where participants faced down a 3-mile course culminating in a mud pit at the finish line. —Natalie Escobar, NPR, 24 Dec. 2024

In a letter to Metcalf from the early seventies, Alice described how her relationships with men often culminated in the sense of lightness that Rose feels immediately after her beatings. —Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin culminatus, past participle of culminare, from Late Latin, to crown, from Latin culmin-, culmen top — more at hill

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

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Kids Definition

culminate

verb

cul·​mi·​nate ˈkəl-mə-ˌnāt 

culminated; culminating

: to reach the highest point

culmination

ˌkəl-mə-ˈnā-shən

noun