zenith

[ zee-nith or, esp. British, zen-ith ]

/ ˈzi nɪθ or, esp. British, ˈzɛn ɪθ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR zenith ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the point on the celestial sphere vertically above a given position or observer.Compare nadir.

a highest point or state; culmination.

Nearby words

zener diode, zeng guofan, zenger, zenia, zenist, zenith, zenith distance, zenith telescope, zenith tube, zenithal, zenithal equidistant projection

Origin of zenith

1350–1400; Middle English cenith < Medieval Latin < Old Spanish zenit, scribal error for zemt < Arabic samt road, incorrectly read as senit by medieval scribes (compare Arabic samt ar-rās road above (over) one's head, the opposite of nadir)

SYNONYMS FOR zenith

2 apex, summit.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR zenith ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR zenith

1, 2 nadir.

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Can be confused

nadir zenith

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for zenith

This reached its zenith when he and Jon Stewart held their Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear in 2010.
Which Stephen Colbert Will We See on CBS?|Tim Teeman|April 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In his own mind he is at the zenith of his life, a man in full.
My Week At An Austrian Fat Camp|Owen Matthews|October 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The major labor unions - then at the zenith of their political power - disliked Johnson.
David's Bookclub: Mutual Contempt|David Frum|April 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In 1986, at the zenith of her strength, that figure was reduced to 1.9 million.
How Margaret Thatcher Saved Britain and Changed the World|David Frum|April 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST

(a) The early 1990s were the period of the crack epidemic, the zenith of American gun crime.
David's Bookclub: Private Guns, Public Health|David Frum|March 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the zenith—that is, above the top of the Pyramid—is a triangle surrounded by a glory; and in the centre is an all-seeing eye.
The Lost Ten Tribes, and 1882|Joseph Wild
With every step, after that, this stately dome rose higher and higher into the blue sky, and at last seemed to occupy the zenith.
A Tramp Abroad, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
Cæsar was then near the zenith of his desires—a king's throne in central Italy.
Lucretia Borgia|Ferdinand Gregorovius
The nadir is the lowest point in the heavens and the zenith is the highest.
Keats: Poems Published in 1820|John Keats
Babylon touched the zenith of its grandeur two thousand four hundred and fifty years ago, when Nebuchadnezzar sat upon the throne.
The Chautauquan, Vol. III, December 1882|The Chautauquan Literary and Scientific Circle

British Dictionary definitions for zenith

zenith

/ (ˈzɛnɪθ, US ˈziːnɪθ) /

noun

astronomy the point on the celestial sphere vertically above an observer

the highest point; peak; acmethe zenith of someone's achievements

Compare nadir

Derived Forms

zenithal, adjective

Word Origin for zenith

C17: from French cenith, from Medieval Latin, from Old Spanish zenit, based on Arabic samt, as in samt arrās path over one's head, from samt way, path + al the + rās head

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012