culmination
Americannoun
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the act or fact of culminating.
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that in which anything culminates; the culminating position or stage; highest point; acme.
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Astronomy. the position of a celestial body when it is on the meridian.
noun
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the final, highest, or decisive point
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the act of culminating
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astronomy the highest or lowest altitude attained by a heavenly body as it crosses the meridian
Other Word Forms
- nonculmination noun
Etymology
Origin of culmination
1625–35; < Medieval Latin culminātiōn-, stem of culminātiō; see culminate, -ion
Explanation
The culmination is the end point or final stage of something you've been working toward or something that's been building up. The culmination of your high school career, for example, should be graduation day — and probably not prom night. A culmination isn't just the conclusion. It's the climax of the story, the final crowning achievement, the end result of years of research. “Life is a culmination of the past, an awareness of the present, an indication of a future beyond knowledge, the quality that gives a touch of divinity to matter,” said Charles Lindbergh, the first solo pilot to fly nonstop across the Atlantic — a feat that was surely the culmination of his aviation career.
Vocabulary lists containing culmination
This Week in Words: October 22 - 27, 2017
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Obama, on the 50th anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday'
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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.
Inspired by mushrooms, coral reefs and a renegade aesthetic influenced more by experience than formal education, it’s the culmination of 25 years of learning and design for the Pennsylvania-born, California-based Flemming brothers.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
According to Professor Tom Gordon, the latest findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, mark the culmination of years of global research.
From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026
"This promotion is the culmination of a long-term plan," said Hortin.
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
His new role marks the culmination of a remarkable rise for Blanche, who worked as a paralegal in the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office while attending law school at night.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
This was the culmination of the hunt for it, the final moment, the one it had crossed worlds for.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
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.
