apex

¹

[ ey-peks ]

noun

, plural a·pex·es, a·pi·ces [ey, -p, uh, -seez, ap, -, uh, -].

1. the tip, point, or vertex; summit.
2. climax; peak; acme:

   His election to the presidency was the apex of his career.

3. Astronomy. solar apex.

APEX

²

[ ey-peks ]

noun

1. a type of international airfare offering reduced rates for extended stays that are booked in advance.

APEX

¹

/ ˈeɪpɛks /

acronym for

1. Advance Purchase Excursion: a reduced airline or long-distance rail fare that must be paid a specified number of days in advance
2. (in Britain) Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical, and Computer Staff

apex

²

/ ˈeɪpɛks /

noun

1. the highest point; vertex
2. the pointed end or tip of something
3. a pinnacle or high point, as of a career, etc
4. Also calledsolar apex astronomy the point on the celestial sphere, lying in the constellation Hercules, towards which the sun appears to move at a velocity of 20 kilometres per second relative to the nearest stars

Word History and Origins

Origin of apex¹

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1595–1605

Origin of apex²

First recorded in 1970–75; A(dvance) P(urchase) Ex(cursion)

Word History and Origins

Origin of apex¹

C17: from Latin: point

Example Sentences

But the KKK actually reached its apex of influence during the 1920s.

From The Daily Beast

He died at the apex, after one of the best rides of his life, in the oldest rodeo.

From The Daily Beast

Its placing at the apex of British life is itself a little nuts, as the Ovation series shows.

From The Daily Beast

The Gospel Tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which opens today, is where Southern culture achieves an apex.

From The Daily Beast

It allows us to see ourselves as the apex of history, the culmination of an inevitable, upward surge of improvement.

From The Daily Beast

The upper wings are white, with a posterior broad black subtriangular border, having two or three white spots at the apex.

From Project Gutenberg

And, lastly, that at the apex of the nucleus the radicle of the future Embryo would constantly be found.

From Project Gutenberg

He considers the centre of the hilum as the base, and the chalaza, where it exists, as the natural apex of the seed.

From Project Gutenberg

The extreme apex is bifid, the lower process being rounded, the upper more pointed.

From Project Gutenberg

It is the crown and apex of all bad language, the coping-stone of all systems of verbal aggression and abuse.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• apogee
• culmination
• pinnacle