culmination

American  

[kuhl-muh-ney-shuhn] / ˌkʌl məˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or fact of culminating.

2. that in which anything culminates; the culminating position or stage; highest point; acme.

   Synonyms:

   summit, peak, zenith, climax

3. Astronomy. the position of a celestial body when it is on the meridian.

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culmination British  

/ ˌkʌlmɪˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. the final, highest, or decisive point

2. the act of culminating

3. astronomy the highest or lowest altitude attained by a heavenly body as it crosses the meridian

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Other Word Forms

• nonculmination noun

Etymology

Origin of culmination

1625–35; < Medieval Latin culminātiōn-, stem of culminātiō; culminate, -ion

Example Sentences

And when PSG won the Champions League last May, it was the culmination of a lifelong dream.

From The Wall Street Journal

The mission was the culmination of months of secretive planning—and a series of mixed signals—that allowed the U.S. to preserve the element of surprise, even though the attack at times seemed inevitable.

From The Wall Street Journal

Spotify Wrapped only represents the culmination of our listening habits on a single music platform, but every shared Wrapped post seems to come with some self-evident clarity about our personal identity.

From Los Angeles Times

"The work now being published is the culmination of that team effort," he says.

From Science Daily

For Binance, it was the culmination of a nearly yearlong effort to pursue clemency for its founder.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• apex
• climax
• completion
• pinnacle