culminate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
culminates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
culminated,
past participle, past
-
culminating
present participle
-
to reach the highest point, summit, or highest development (usually followed by in).
-
to end or arrive at a final stage (usually followed by in).
The argument culminated in a fistfight.
-
to rise to or form an apex; terminate (usually followed by in).
The tower culminates in a tall spire.
-
Astronomy. (of a celestial body) to be on the meridian, or reach the highest or the lowest altitude.
verb (used with object)
-
culminates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
culminated,
past participle, past
-
culminating
present participle
verb
-
to end or cause to end, esp to reach or bring to a final or climactic stage
-
(intr) (of a celestial body) to cross the meridian of the observer
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
culminatesimple
-
culminatessimple
-
have culminatedperfect
-
has culminatedperfect
-
am culminatingprogressive
-
are culminatingprogressive
-
is culminatingprogressive
-
have been culminatingperfect progressive
-
has been culminatingperfect progressive
Past
-
culminatedsimple
-
had culminatedperfect
-
was culminatingprogressive
-
were culminatingprogressive
-
had been culminatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of culminate
First recorded in 1640–50; from Late Latin culminātus (past participle of culmināre to come to a peak), equivalent to Latin culmin- (stem of culmen ) “peak, top” + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
The verb culminate is used to describe a high point or a climactic stage in a process. For example, the goal of a Major League baseball team is to have their season culminate in a World Series victory. The word culminate derives from the Latin word culminatus, the past participle of culminare, which means "to top or crown." Use culminate when you are referring to a crowning moment or a final conclusion: “I want my experiments combining strawberry jam with burnt toast to culminate in a Nobel Prize in Chemistry — or at least a lucrative contract with a major food supplier.”
Vocabulary lists containing culminate
Unit 1: Telling Details
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Unbroken
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For national tournaments, the corollary is how poorer countries always have to match up against richer ones for regional faceoffs and qualifiers that culminate in the quadrennial dream that is the World Cup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Still, many controllers opt out of what they describe as an onerous examination process that could culminate in losing their careers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
All of that will culminate on Saturday night in the quirky Cortina Curling Stadium, first built as an open-air venue to host the 1956 Games.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
Sometimes these culminate into a special certification that can be added to your résumé.
From Barron's ● Feb. 7, 2026
The resulting “interviews” of passengers in these dragnet operations usually culminate in a request for “consent” to search the passenger’s luggage.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Most of all, the high-fantasy storyline, which culminates in an exciting battle between the duke’s army and an icebound civilization that shelters Ildr and Paul, is good fun.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
After Wimbledon, the season switches to the North American hard court swing which culminates at the US Open between 30 August and 13 September.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
“Choo Choo Revue” culminates in a look toward the future.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
But even if we’re meant to view our woolly antagonists as sheeple, after a fashion, “The Sheep Detectives” culminates on an optimistic note for both the four-legged and the two.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
His embarrassment would have pleased me, but once he recovered, there would be that awkward period that sometimes culminates in a handshake.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
The nuptials culminated on Saturday with a wedding breakfast hosted by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, who offered his blessing to the newlyweds.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
And drummer Billy Higgins, whose friendship with Mr. Lloyd began in the 1950s and culminated in a remarkable album of duets, “Which Way Is East,” recorded in 2001, four months before Higgins’s death.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Her death sparked a manhunt, which culminated in the arrest of a 28-year-old white British man in Rotherham, South Yorkshire at around 21:00 on Saturday.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
According to Page Six, the model’s essay in the Cut had publishers champing at the bit in a 12-way bidding war that culminated in the hefty pay day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
From this point the route angled steeply upward along a graceful arete of wind-compacted snow that culminated in the South Summit—where I arrived at 11:00 to find a second, even worse bottleneck.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Investors will also receive a handful of key economic reports this week, culminating with Friday’s July jobs report.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
The fourth event coming Sunday is called “Building the Garden,” culminating in how all of the previous subjects fed “The Audience’s Listening.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Meanwhile, U.S. regulators began probing short sellers’ trading tactics, culminating in a securities-fraud conviction for Left last month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
It is shaping up to be a huge weekend in New York, with July 4 celebrations culminating in a massive fireworks show, and World Cup action scheduled for July 5.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
The entire history of the people, culminating with the horrifying story of the Ruin, was portrayed with immense complexity on the voluminous folds of the robe.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
