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definitions

cresting

[kres-ting]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cresting ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Architecture. a decorative coping, balustrade, etc., usually designed to give an interesting skyline.
Furniture. ornamentation either carved or sawed in the top rail of a piece or else added to it.
a system of ornamental ridges or flutes on a piece of plate armor.

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RELATED WORDS

climax, crest, culminate, conquer, climb, finish, cover, cap, face, exceed, complete, beat, clinch, crown, surpass, eclipse, lick, subdue, down, hurdle

Nearby words

  1. crested dog's-tail,
  2. crested swift,
  3. crested tit,
  4. crested wheatgrass,
  5. crestfallen,
  6. crestone needle,
  7. crestone peak,
  8. crestwood,
  9. cresyl,
  10. cresylic

Origin of cresting

First recorded in 1865–70; crest + -ing1

crest

[krest]

noun

the highest part of a hill or mountain range; summit.
the head or top of anything.
a ridge or ridgelike formation.
the foamy top of a wave.
the point of highest flood, as of a river.
the highest point or level; climax; culmination.
a tuft or other natural growth on the top of the head of an animal, as the comb of a rooster.
anything resembling or suggesting such a tuft.
the ridge of the neck of a horse, dog, etc.
the mane growing from this ridge.
an ornament or heraldic device surmounting a helmet.
a helmet.
a ridge running from front to back along the top of a helmet; comb.
Heraldry. a figure borne above the escutcheon in an achievement of arms, either on a helmet or by itself as a distinguishing device.
Anatomy. a ridge, especially on a bone.
a ridge or other prominence on any part of the body of an animal.
Architecture. a cresting.
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.Compare root1(def 15a).

verb (used with object)

to furnish with a crest.
to serve as a crest for; crown or top.
to reach the crest or summit of (a hill, mountain, etc.).

verb (used without object)

to form or rise to a crest, as a wave or river.
to reach the crest or highest level: Interest in the project has crested.

Origin of crest

1275–1325; Middle English creste < Old French < Latin crista
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cresting

British Dictionary definitions for cresting

cresting

noun

an ornamental ridge along the top of a roof, wall, etc
carpentry a shaped decorative toprail or horizontal carved ornament surmounting a chair, mirror, etc

crest

noun

a tuft or growth of feathers, fur, or skin along the top of the heads of some birds, reptiles, and other animals
something resembling or suggesting this
the top, highest point, or highest stage of something
a ridge on the neck of a horse, dog, lion, etc
the mane or hair growing from this ridge
an ornamental piece, such as a plume, on top of a helmet
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
a ridge along the top of a roof, wall, etc
a ridge along the surface of a bone
Also called: cresting archery identifying rings painted around an arrow shaft

verb

(intr) to come or rise to a high point
(tr) to lie at the top of; cap
(tr) to go to or reach the top of (a hill, wave, etc)
Derived Formscrested, adjectivecrestless, adjective

Word Origin for crest

C14: from Old French creste, from Latin crista

CREST

noun

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

Word Origin for CREST

C20: from CrestCo, the name of the operating company
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 cresting
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for cresting

crest

[krĕst]

n.

A projection or ridge, especially of bone; cresta.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for cresting

crest

[krĕst]

The part of a wave with greatest magnitude; the highest part of a wave. Compare trough. See more at wave.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.