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• crest
  crest

  noun

  the highest part of a hill or mountain range; summit.
• CREST
  CREST

  noun

  an electronic share-settlement system, created by the Bank of England and owned by 69 firms, that began operations in 1996

crest

American  

[krest] / krɛst /

noun

• crests
  plural

1. the highest part of a hill or mountain range; summit.

2. the head or top of anything.

3. a ridge or ridgelike formation.

4. the foamy top of a wave.

5. the point of highest flood, as of a river.

6. the highest point or level; climax; culmination.

7. a tuft or other natural growth on the top of the head of an animal, as the comb of a rooster.

8. anything resembling or suggesting such a tuft.

9. the ridge of the neck of a horse, dog, etc.

10. the mane growing from this ridge.

11. an ornament or heraldic device surmounting a helmet.

12. a helmet.

13. a ridge running from front to back along the top of a helmet; comb.

14. Heraldry. a figure borne above the escutcheon in an achievement of arms, either on a helmet or by itself as a distinguishing device.

15. Anatomy. a ridge, especially on a bone.

16. a ridge or other prominence on any part of the body of an animal.

17. Architecture. a cresting.

18. Machinery. (in a screw or other threaded object) the ridge or surface farthest from the body of the object and defined by the flanks of the thread.

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verb (used with object)

• crests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• crested,
  past participle,  past
• cresting
  present participle

1. to furnish with a crest.

2. to serve as a crest for; crown or top.

3. to reach the crest or summit of (a hill, mountain, etc.).

verb (used without object)

• crests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• crested,
  past participle,  past
• cresting
  present participle

1. to form or rise to a crest, as a wave or river.

2. to reach the crest or highest level.

   Interest in the project has crested.

crest ¹ British  

/ krɛst /

noun

1. a tuft or growth of feathers, fur, or skin along the top of the heads of some birds, reptiles, and other animals

2. something resembling or suggesting this

3. the top, highest point, or highest stage of something

4. a ridge on the neck of a horse, dog, lion, etc

5. the mane or hair growing from this ridge

6. an ornamental piece, such as a plume, on top of a helmet

7. heraldry a symbol of a family or office, usually representing a beast or bird, borne in addition to a coat of arms and used in medieval times to decorate the helmet

8. a ridge along the top of a roof, wall, etc

9. a ridge along the surface of a bone

10. Also called: cresting.  archery identifying rings painted around an arrow shaft

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verb

1. (intr) to come or rise to a high point

2. (tr) to lie at the top of; cap

3. (tr) to go to or reach the top of (a hill, wave, etc)

CREST ² British  

/ krɛst /

noun

1. an electronic share-settlement system, created by the Bank of England and owned by 69 firms, that began operations in 1996

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crest Scientific  

/ krĕst /

1. The part of a wave with greatest magnitude; the highest part of a wave.

2. Compare trough See more at wave

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subcrest
  noun
• undercrest
  noun
• crested
  adjective
• crestless
  adjective
• uncrested
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• crests
  plural

Participles

• cresting
  present
• crested
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• crest
  simple
• crests
  simple
• have crested
  perfect
• has crested
  perfect
• am cresting
  progressive
• are cresting
  progressive
• is cresting
  progressive
• have been cresting
  perfect progressive
• has been cresting
  perfect progressive

Past

• crested
  simple
• had crested
  perfect
• was cresting
  progressive
• were cresting
  progressive
• had been cresting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will crest
  simple
• will have crested
  perfect
• will be cresting
  progressive
• will have been cresting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of crest

1275–1325; Middle English creste < Old French < Latin crista

Explanation

A crest is a showy tuft of feathers on the head of a bird. It's easy to identify a male cardinal by its bright red color and the tufted crest on its head. The Latin word crista, which crest comes from, means "tuft or comb." An animal's crest can be feathers, fur, skin, or a comb like a rooster's. Something that resembles such a feature can also be called a crest, such as a plume on an old-fashioned helmet. The top or highest part of something is also a crest, like the crest of a hill or the crest of a wave. As a verb, crest means "to reach the top" like when you crest a mountain.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crest crests crested cresting

It was chosen because this animal’s femur lacks a crest or raised bony protrusion – known as a trochanter – where part of the tail musculature would attach.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

Caleb said he was told the Llantrisant Mace was older than most of the Crown Jewels and survived Oliver Cromwell trying to melt down any remaining precious metal bearing Charles I's crest.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

Soccer and the mastermind behind that World Cup — created for the 23 players who will wear the U.S. crest at home this summer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

After riding the crest of the first wave of the AI boom, Microsoft has lost momentum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

I pulled up next to Samir, who had halted at the crest of the hill to wait for the others.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

They unearthed a skull, fragments of the hind legs and several crests.

From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026

It was only after returning in 2022 with a larger team and uncovering two more crests that the researchers understood they were dealing with a new species.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2026

Very different are the bold designs for wrought-iron ornament, drawn full size, for making grilles, chandeliers and decorative crests.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

The stream banks were denuded of vegetation and the riffle crests obliterated as the choked stream tried to reach the sea.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025

The gale force wind tore the crests from the rollers, covering the men and boats with a layer of ice.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

The rate of inflation crested above 4% in May to a three-year high, briefly outrunning the typical increase in workers’ wages.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

Software makes up about 13% of that index and an even larger share of loans in private-credit portfolios, the result of a wave of private-equity buyouts that crested a few years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

He also used symbols like the "pava", the traditional farmer's hat, and the endangered Puerto Rican crested toad.

From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026

At another point, a giant monitor behind the action featured Concho, the singer’s crested toad mascot.

From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2026

The rain must have ended shortly after he fell asleep, and during that time the flood had crested.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

A subtle wave of shame rises — small but persistent — cresting as you imagine your child saying, or your partner thinking, “We’re having this again?”

From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2026

New data-center designs are cresting one gigawatt in power consumption, the entire capacity of a nuclear reactor.

From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025

Pelicans glided over the cresting waves, while a harbor seal watched the surfers for a bit before diving under the surface and disappearing from sight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2025

In further clips, that small cloud gets darker and flames can later be seen cresting over the hilltop.

From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2025

Faster and closer, faster and closer, faster and closer, and at last, like a cresting wave, the rider burst out of the silver mist.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

Related Words

• height
• peak
• ridge