apogee

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noun apo·gee \ ˈa-pə-(ˌ)jē \

Definition of apogee

1 :the point in the orbit of an object (such as a satellite) orbiting the earth that is at the greatest distance from the center of the earth; also :the point farthest from a planet or a satellite (such as the moon) reached by an object orbiting it — compare perigee

2 :the farthest or highest point :culmination

Aegean civilization reached its apogee in Crete.

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apogean

play \ˌa-pə-ˈjē-ən\ adjective

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Examples of apogee in a Sentence

shag carpeting reached the apogee of its popularity in the 1970s but is now considered outdated

Recent Examples of apogee from the Web

The moon’s average distance is almost 239,000 miles, but its perigee, or closest approach to Earth, is about 225,000 miles, and its apogee is about 252,000.

— jeffrey kluger, Time, "The Beauty and Science of a Total Solar Eclipse," 18 Aug. 2017
At its apogee in 1915, some 20,000 postal clerks worked aboard 4,000 Railway Post Office (RPO) cars that traversed more than 200,000 miles of track.

— frederick n. rasmussen, baltimoresun.com, "When the last Railway Mail Service delivered," 15 June 2017
Friday’s moon appeared as a minimoon, which happens when the moon is at its furthest point from Earth, known as the apogee.

— Fox News, "Strawberry Moon delights stargazers," 12 June 2017
A minimoon happens when the moon is at its furthest point from Earth (called the apogee).

— cailey rizzo, Fox News, "Strawberry Moon: When to see it and what it is," 8 June 2017
An official from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff also said the missile appeared to be similar in range and apogee to the midrange missile that North Korea test-fired in February.

— kim tong-hyung, chicagotribune.com, "North Korea fires midrange missile in its latest test," 21 May 2017
David Wright, co-director of the global security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the missile appeared to have reached an apogee of about 1,240 miles.

— anna fifield, Washington Post, "North Korea’s Kim celebrates test of ‘perfect weapon system’," 14 May 2017
From the 12th century onwards—around the time the most famous temple, Angkor Wat, was built and the empire reached its apogee—the large new channels primarily disposed of water to the lake.

— National Geographic, "Angkor Wat’s Collapse From Climate Change Has Lessons for Today," 5 Apr. 2017
According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile had an apogee of 344 miles travelled 313 miles before splashing into the Sea of Japan.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "What's Different About North Korea's Latest Missile Test," 13 Feb. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apogee.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Of apogees, climaxes, and culminations

Apogee is often used in its figurative sense, signifying the high point of a career, endeavor, or state (“she was at the apogee of her profession”). This meaning developed as a metaphorical extension of the word’s astronomical sense, denoting the farthest distance from earth of an object orbiting the planet.

A number of other English words that are synonymous with apogee have followed a similar path of figurative development from a technical meaning. Climax (“the most interesting and exciting part of something”) came into English as a term for a series of phrases arranged in ascending order of rhetorical forcefulness. And, very much like apogee, culmination (“the final result of something”) is also rooted in astronomy: it originally referred to the highest point a celestial body reaches in its daily revolution (for example, the sun’s height at noon).

Illustration of apogee

Origin and Etymology of apogee

French apogée, from New Latin apogaeum, from Greek apogaion, from neuter of apogeios, apogaios far from the earth, from apo- + gē, gaia earth

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1640

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apogee Synonyms

Synonyms

acme, apex, height, capstone, climax, crescendo, crest, crown, culmination, head, high noon, high tide, high-water mark, meridian, ne plus ultra, noon, noontime, peak, pinnacle, sum, summit, tip-top, top, zenith

Antonyms

bottom, nadir, rock bottom

Related Words

bloom, blossom, flood tide, flower, glory, heyday, prime; cap, ceiling, roof; extreme, extremity, tip, vertex; high, highlight, highspot

Near Antonyms

abyss, base, foot; minimum

Other Astronomy Terms

gibbous, nadir, nebulous, penumbra, retrograde, sidereal, syzygy, wane, wax, zenith

APOGEE Defined for English Language Learners

apogee

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noun

Definition of apogee for English Language Learners

: the highest point of something
: the point in outer space where an object traveling around the Earth (such as a satellite or the moon) is farthest away from the Earth