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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. 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 ² 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 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

“Our duty is to give it our all on the field. Our duty is to defend our crest and represent our country with dignity.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

“I think you will either be on the crest of the wave or drowning on AI,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 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

They can reach 100 feet in height from the bottom of the trough to the crest, and the distance from one wave to the next can measure a mile.

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

The logo was created in the style of Japanese family crests, with quatrefoils embellishments and stylized flowers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026

Ranchers like Kemp who support the laws say it is a birthright to brand cattle with their family crests.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025

“Dow crests 30,000 points on vaccine hopes, Biden transition,” the Sioux City Journal of Iowa wrote on Nov. 25, 2020, in its page D1 article.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2025

Lin's initial results indicate that the Parasaurolophus' crest was used for resonance, similar to the crests of birds we see today.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2024

Stuart peered ahead into the gathering storm, but saw nothing except gray waves with white crests.

From "Stuart Little" by E.B. White

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

Laboratory testing confirmed the disease had infected a greater crested tern in the town of Robe, South Australia.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Locals have claimed that rare albino deer, great crested newts and badgers all roamed the field prior to it being built on.

From BBC ● May 9, 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

The human children crested the hill, a dozen silhouettes backlit by the rippling green light of Progress.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

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

Given the cresting age wave, the number is expected to roughly double in the next 35 years.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2025

After cresting, the rivers’ recession would be slow, leaving the waterways above the major flooding stage through the middle of the week.

From New York Times ● May 5, 2024

It hung over the bridge like a cresting wave.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

Related Words

• height
• peak
• ridge