climacteric

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adjective cli·mac·ter·ic \klī-ˈmak-t(ə-)rik; ˌklī-ˌmak-ˈter-ik, -ˈtir-\

Definition of climacteric

1 : constituting or relating to a climacteric
2 : critical, crucial

climacteric was our Word of the Day on 09/25/2011. Hear the podcast!

Examples of climacteric in a Sentence

as the war reached its climacteric phase, the atrocities dramatically increased, both in number and brutality

Recent Examples of climacteric from the Web

Macerating unripe climacteric fruit in sugar, however, isn’t a substitute for ripening them; that just takes time in your kitchen counter’s fruit basket.

— bill st. john, The Denver Post, "Get Cooking: Macerating fruit," 8 May 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of climacteric

Latin climactericus, from Greek klimaktērikos, from klimaktēr critical point, literally, rung of a ladder, from klimak-, klimax ladder

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First Known Use: 1582

See Words from the same year

climacteric

noun cli·mac·ter·ic

Definition of climacteric

1 : a major turning point or critical stage
2a : menopause 1b : andropause
3 : the marked and sudden rise in the respiratory rate of fruit just prior to full ripening

Examples of climacteric in a Sentence

historians attempting to pinpoint the Roman Empire's climacteric, that precise moment when it began its long downhill slide

Did You Know?

Climacteric comes from the Greek word klimaktēr, meaning "critical point" or, literally, "rung of a ladder." English speakers have long used climacteric for those inevitable big moments encountered on the metaphorical ladder of life. The major climacterics in a person’s life were once thought to happen in years denoted by multiples of 7 or 9 or only in the odd multiples of 7 (7, 21, 35, etc.). The grand (or great) climacteric was held to occur in the 63rd (7 x 9) or the 81st (9 x 9) year of life. Today, climacteric can refer to male or female menopause, which typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, but the general "turning point" sense is not usually tied to a specific age.