culminate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
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.
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to rise to or form an apex; terminate (usually followed by in).
The tower culminates in a tall spire.
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Astronomy. (of a celestial body) to be on the meridian, or reach the highest or the lowest altitude.
verb (used with object)
verb
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to end or cause to end, esp to reach or bring to a final or climactic stage
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(intr) (of a celestial body) to cross the meridian of the observer
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
culminatesimple
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culminatessimple
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have culminatedperfect
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has culminatedperfect
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am culminatingprogressive
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are culminatingprogressive
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is culminatingprogressive
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have been culminatingperfect progressive
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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
Smaller-deal activity is picking up, in part, because many founder-led businesses started by baby boomers are in the midst of succession planning, which will culminate in a wave of sale activity, according to Richert.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
After Najaf, Khamenei's body will be flown to Karbala, about 60 kilometres north, for another procession that will culminate at the shrines of Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
While the plot failed to enlist enough support from the military to go ahead, it did culminate in the storming of government buildings by Bolsonaro's supporters on 8 January 2023.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025
Programs scheduled to culminate in two years became outmoded in six months, and crowds of men gathered for them in one place were dispersed to twenty others.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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
His time there culminates in a prisoner performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony that would become globally famous.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
In the final act, which culminates in Christie’s hotly anticipated fall runway show, Riley successfully closes the circle.
From Salon ● May 22, 2026
“Keeping Score” culminates work developed from three years of workshop material.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 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
Worries about a bubble in the housing market grew in Greenspan’s last years as Fed chair and culminated in the 2008 financial crisis.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
The nasty spat culminated in April when Shell agreed to resign as president of Paramount Skydance to concentrate on his legal headache.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
This culminated last month with relegation to the Championship after 14 years in the Premier League.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
Now, the obsession has culminated into Hollywood gold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Every season culminated with World Championships, unless it was an Olympic year.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
The fact that they’ve moved up together “marks a period of extremely aggressive buying, culminating in a parabolic uptrend,” Adam Turnquist, chief market strategist at LPL Financial, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
To Germany for the Euros; another awful experience culminating with a 1-0 loss to Hungary.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
That set off a series of escalating reactions by American Fork police to the YouTuber’s shenanigans, culminating in a search of his Airbnb at gunpoint.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
If the wedding plans come to fruition, it could be a huge weekend in New York, with July 4 celebrations culminating in a huge fireworks show, and World Cup action scheduled for July 5.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
But the long-term trend has still been toward large, complex societies, culminating in states.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
