climax
Americannoun
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the highest or most intense point in the development or resolution of something; culmination.
His career reached its climax when he was elected president.
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(in a dramatic or literary work) a decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a plot.
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Rhetoric.
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a figure consisting of a series of related ideas so arranged that each surpasses the preceding in force or intensity.
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the last term or member of this figure.
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an orgasm.
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Ecology. the stable and self-perpetuating end stage in the ecological succession or evolution of a plant and animal community.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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the most intense or highest point of an experience or of a series of events
the party was the climax of the week
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a decisive moment in a dramatic or other work
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a rhetorical device by which a series of sentences, clauses, or phrases are arranged in order of increasing intensity
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ecology the stage in the development of a community during which it remains stable under the prevailing environmental conditions
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Also called: sexual climax. (esp in referring to women) another word for orgasm
verb
Usage
What does climax mean? A climax is the most intense, decisive point of something, especially in a story or film.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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climaxsimple
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climaxessimple
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have climaxedperfect
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has climaxedperfect
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am climaxingprogressive
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are climaxingprogressive
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is climaxingprogressive
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have been climaxingperfect progressive
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has been climaxingperfect progressive
Past
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climaxedsimple
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had climaxedperfect
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was climaxingprogressive
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were climaxingprogressive
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had been climaxingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of climax
First recorded in 1580–90; from Late Latin, from Greek klîmax “ladder,” akin to klī́nein “to lean”
Explanation
When something — like a movie or piece of music — reaches its most important or exciting part, that's the climax. A climax is a high point. When you're on a roller coaster and you reach the highest point, that's the climax of the ride. This word is also used often in art and entertainment. In an adventure movie, there's usually a moment near the end when there's a lot of danger, suspense, and action — a point the whole movie has been building towards. That's the climax. After a climax, tension is released and things calm down. After a climax, you probably want to say "Whew!"
Vocabulary lists containing climax
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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AP English Lit exam terms
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Rhetoric
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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:
The yearslong divorce battle nears a climax Friday, when a panel of appeals court judges is scheduled to decide how to divide Chey’s roughly $5 billion fortune with his ex-wife.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The yearslong divorce battle nears a climax Friday, when a panel of appeals court judges is scheduled to decide how to divide Chey’s roughly $5 billion fortune with his 65-year-old ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Until, that is, the play’s rather retrograde climax, when the playwright’s provocateur wildness goes limp.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
It led to a confusing end to the race - and a disappointing one for some, because a dramatic climax was in waiting.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
The agricultural depression, taken together with a series of failed reforms and broken political promises, had pyramided to a climax of social tensions.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
“As Mac he avoids both melodrama and condescension, finding climaxes in each small step toward rehabilitation, each new responsibility shouldered.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
Famously, in one of the most extraordinary championship climaxes in F1 history, Ferrari messed up their strategy and opened the door to Vettel to win his first title.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025
He goes in for big effects, lots of percussion, huge climaxes and sweet melodies of which you can never, if so inclined, get enough.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2025
Some of the best popcorn movie climaxes are built around less.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2025
As a trafficker in climaxes and thrills and characterization and wonderful dialogue and suspense and confrontations, I had outlined the Dresden story many times.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
Roger Paterson presented his footage to America in a traveling show that crisscrossed the nation and climaxed with the hyped Bigfoot sequence on screen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
But Marcus Tavernier's 69th minute penalty, awarded for Max Kilman's handball, sparked a Bournemouth fightback that climaxed with Enes Unal's 81st minute equaliser.
From Barron's ● Nov. 22, 2025
“When I Needed You” climaxed with a moving a cappella singalong that had virtually the entire crowd belting Jepsen’s lines about discovering how far is too far to go to accommodate a selfish partner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
It climaxed with Chalamet’s sheltered scion, Paul Atreides, abducted from his family’s spice-mining compound and left to die in the scorching Arrakis desert, patrolled by fanged sandworms the size of the Empire State Building.
From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2024
The debate over Lawrence’s future at Berkeley climaxed at an acrimonious faculty conclave pitting the hard sciences, represented by Birge and Lewis, against the humanities and social sciences departments.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Seven stakes are for 2-year-olds, climaxing with the $50,000 Gottstein Futurity at a mile and 70 yards on closing day.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2024
The Nats established themselves during an eight-year stretch when they made the postseason five times, climaxing with the 2019 World Series win.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 5, 2022
But the escalating silliness of her response, climaxing as the queen and princess traded barbs over the clutched dagger until Alicent finally drew blood, tipped the drama into farce.
From New York Times ● Oct. 2, 2022
Instead of climaxing at graduation, “Beating Heart Baby” takes the end of high school as its midpoint, and in the second half of the book, Santi’s narration gives way to Suwa’s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2022
The conference unanimously voted to initiate a massive countrywide antipass campaign beginning March 31 and climaxing on June 26 with a great bonfire of passes.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
