apogee

noun apo·gee \ ˈa-pə-(ˌ)jē \

|Updated on: 28 Jun 2018

Editor's Note: Of apogees, climaxes, and culminations

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shag carpeting reached the apogee of its popularity in the 1970s but is now considered outdated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

At its farthest point, or apogee, TESS will have an unobstructed view of the sky and will move beyond interference from the Van Allen radiation belts, which encircle Earth.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Five Things to Know About NASA’s New Planet-Hunting Satellite," 17 Apr. 2018
Still, the five-day Test match is the apogee of the sport.

— chris stokel-walker, chicagotribune.com, "Cricket races to save itself from years of declining popularity," 14 May 2018
The spacecraft, built by Orbital ATK, will conduct thruster burns at apogee (farthest point from Earth) and perigee (closest point to Earth) for 4 or 5 orbits.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "SpaceX Launch of NASA's TESS Space Telescope Scrubbed Until Wednesday (Updated)," 16 Apr. 2018
The International Space Station, which orbits at an apogee—or high point—of 252 miles, must periodically fire its thrusters to make up for this slow erosion of altitude and speed.

— jeffrey kluger, Time, "China's Falling Space Station Won't Land On Your Head. Probably.," 28 Mar. 2018
In this case that's dolsot bibimbap, which is the apogee of Korea's most popular culinary export outside of barbecue and kimchi.

— mike sula, Chicago Reader, "Korean mom-and-pop Moccozy serves bibimbap and more in their highest form," 10 May 2018
Tiangong-1 had a slightly lower apogee of 223 miles.

— jeffrey kluger, Time, "China's Falling Space Station Won't Land On Your Head. Probably.," 28 Mar. 2018
The great apogee, the farthest distance from Earth, will minimize obstruction and interference from our planet.

— dennis overbye, New York Times, "Meet TESS, Seeker of Alien Worlds," 26 Mar. 2018
Change is a baseball constant as veterans' careers pass their apogees and younger players' approach theirs.

— george will, Anchorage Daily News, "Play ball, with informed intelligence," 13 Feb. 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

apogee Synonyms

Other Astronomy Terms

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

APOGEE Defined for English Language Learners

apogee

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