apex

[ ey-peks ]

/ ˈeɪ pɛks /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR apex ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural a·pex·es, a·pi·ces [ey-puh-seez, ap-uh-] /ˈeɪ pəˌsiz, ˈæp ə-/.

the tip, point, or vertex; summit.

climax; peak; acme: His election to the presidency was the apex of his career.

Astronomy. solar apex.

Nearby words

Origin of apex

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1595–1605

APEX

[ ey-peks ]

/ ˈeɪ pɛks /

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

Origin of APEX

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for apex

But the KKK actually reached its apex of influence during the 1920s.
A Brief History of Wingnuts in America; From George Washington to Woodstock|John Avlon|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He died at the apex, after one of the best rides of his life, in the oldest rodeo.
The Death of a Rodeo Cowboy|Peter Richmond|May 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Its placing at the apex of British life is itself a little nuts, as the Ovation series shows.
The Cult of Royal Porn|Tim Teeman|April 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Gospel Tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which opens today, is where Southern culture achieves an apex.
The Cradle of Jazz, Blues and Gospel Endlessly Rocking|Jason Berry|April 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It allows us to see ourselves as the apex of history, the culmination of an inevitable, upward surge of improvement.
How ‘Cosmos’ Bungles the History of Religion and Science|David Sessions|March 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In some way one of his legs had slipped between the branches, the angle of which became more acute, of course, toward the apex.
Our Bird Comrades|Leander S. (Leander Sylvester) Keyser
There they were, heaped up in an auriferous pyramid curiously balanced on its apex.
The World on Wheels and Other Sketches|Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin) Taylor
A stick nailed to the apex of each pair of spars served temporarily to brace them apart.
The Scientific American Boy|A. Russell (Alexander Russell) Bond
The third glume is oblong or linear-oblong, hyaline, apex rounded, ciliate and faintly 2-nerved.
A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses|Rai Bahadur K. Ranga Achariyar
Stamens 2, one each side of the upper lobe of the corolla, exserted; anther-cells confluent at the apex.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for apex

apex

/ (ˈeɪpɛks) /

noun plural apexes or apices (ˈæpɪˌsiːz, ˈeɪ-)

the highest point; vertex

the pointed end or tip of something

a pinnacle or high point, as of a career, etc

Also called: solar 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 Origin for apex

C17: from Latin: point

APEX

/ (ˈeɪpɛks) /

n acronym for

Advance Purchase Excursion: a reduced airline or long-distance rail fare that must be paid a specified number of days in advance

(in Britain) Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical, and Computer Staff

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for apex

apex

c.1600, from Latin apex "summit, peak, tip, top, extreme end;" probably related to apere "to fasten, fix," hence "the tip of anything" (one of the meanings in Latin was "small rod at the top of the flamen's cap"), from PIE *ap- "to take, reach." Proper plural is apices.

Medicine definitions for apex