climax
the highest or most intense point in the development or resolution of something; culmination: His career reached its climax when he was elected president.
(in a dramatic or literary work) a decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a plot.
Rhetoric.
a figure consisting of a series of related ideas so arranged that each surpasses the preceding in force or intensity.
the last term or member of this figure.
an orgasm.
Ecology. the stable and self-perpetuating end stage in the ecological succession or evolution of a plant and animal community.
to bring to or reach a climax.
Origin of climax
1Other words for climax
Other words from climax
- hy·per·cli·max, noun
- un·cli·maxed, adjective
Words Nearby climax
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use climax in a sentence
The orchestral music swells like a climax in a Disney film as Ronald McDonald notices the runty skater.
The McDonald’s Commercials That Live in Our Minds, Rent Free | MM Carrigan | December 18, 2020 | EaterThe climax of cricket mating is the transfer of the spermatophore, a protein ball packed with sperm.
Small, quiet crickets turn leaves into megaphones to blare their mating call | Jonathan Lambert | December 16, 2020 | Science NewsThe climax of Keller’s childhood occurred during the summer of 1887 when Anne Sullivan convinced her that “everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought.”
Five Scientists on the Heroes Who Changed Their Lives - Issue 93: Forerunners | Alan Lightman, Hope Jahren, Robert Sapolsky, | December 2, 2020 | NautilusConversely, given proper attention, the series’ climax could have been significantly expanded and dramatized.
Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor is a calm, loving study in how to exorcise your ghosts | Aja Romano | October 9, 2020 | VoxIt is thought to be the climax to your offering, so making it count will pay off.
Studying the anatomy of a successful high-conversion landing page | Yasmine Dehimi | June 22, 2020 | Search Engine Watch
And it is that climax where the book and the film diverge the most, and which will probably upset the most people.
Why 'The Giver' Movie Will Disappoint the Book's Fans | Kevin Fallon | August 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST[Laughs] I should have said, “Well, this is certainly a climax!”
Allison Janney’s Incredible ‘Double O’ and That ‘Masters of Sex’ Love Scene | Jason Lynch | July 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut then, as the song reaches its climax, the Marines explode.
Why These Marines Love ‘Frozen’—and Why It Matters | Aaron B. O’Connell | June 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut not even Cap can escape the dreaded generic climax of the modern day superhero flick.
How ‘Captain America’ Almost Got It Right but Ended Up Being a Dud | Sujay Kumar | April 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe percussion rolls like thunder, the woodwinds climax, the camera swoops upward, and we see the brass plaque: The Olive Garden.
Frank Underwood Will Not Tolerate Insubordination in This Olive Garden | Kelly Williams Brown | February 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOn to Gaba Tepe just in time to see the opening, the climax and the end of the dreaded Turkish counter attack.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonShe was a grown young woman when she was overtaken by what she supposed to be the climax of her fate.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinThe climax was reached when a most offensive policeman in a dictatorial manner ordered me to 'Move on.'
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsA talk with this enigmatical cousin would be a proper climax to the triumphs of the night.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonThat last moment, as she stepped lightly over the threshold of the library, was a sort of climax to the intoxication of youth.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
British Dictionary definitions for climax
/ (ˈklaɪmæks) /
the most intense or highest point of an experience or of a series of events: the party was the climax of the week
a decisive moment in a dramatic or other work
a rhetorical device by which a series of sentences, clauses, or phrases are arranged in order of increasing intensity
ecology the stage in the development of a community during which it remains stable under the prevailing environmental conditions
Also called: sexual climax (esp in referring to women) another word for orgasm
to reach or bring to a climax
Origin of climax
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse