crest

noun

\ ˈkrest

Definition of crest

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a showy tuft or process on the head of an animal and especially a bird — see bird illustration

b : the plume or identifying emblem worn on a knight's helmet also : the top of a helmet

c(1) : a heraldic representation of the crest

(2) : a heraldic device depicted above the escutcheon (see escutcheon sense 1) but not upon a helmet

(3) : coat of arms sense 2a

d : a ridge or prominence on a part of an animal body

2 : something suggesting a crest especially in being an upper prominence, edge, or limit: such as

a : peak especially : the top line of a mountain or hill

b : the ridge of a roof

c : the top of a wave

3a : a high point of an action or process and especially of one that is rhythmic

b : climax, culmination at the crest of his fame

crest

verb

crested; cresting; crests

Definition of crest (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to furnish with a crest also : crown

2 : to reach the crest of crested the hill and looked around

intransitive verb

: to rise to a crest waves cresting in the storm

Other Words from crest Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about crest

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Examples of crest in a Sentence

Noun

at that point the filmmaker was at the crest of his critical acclaim, which included winning an Oscar the hiking party reached the crest of the mountain just as it began to thunder

Verb

We crested the hill and looked out around us.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

By nightfall, some protesters had defaced a crest of the Chinese government at the liaison office with eggs and black ink, and had sprayed the building’s exterior with graffiti. — Mike Ives, BostonGlobe.com, "Police fire tear gas and rubber bullets in Hong Kong as protesters target Chinese office," 21 July 2019 Media: Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management The Trinity River is currently at 38.24 feet in Romayor, and the National Weather Service now indicates a crest of 39.1 Saturday. — From Community Reports, Houston Chronicle, "Liberty County officials keeping eye on Trinity River flooding," 31 Mar. 2018 What’s worse is the sense that, like the Reds in 2012 and the Bengals in 2015, this represented the crest of the hoop hill for each school. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc: After losses by Xavier Musketeers and UC Bearcats, how do you describe the indescribable?," 19 Mar. 2018 Inside the shops, one finds branded beer steins, flags bearing Stark and Lannister family crests, lots of swords. — Adam Wilson, Harper's magazine, "Good Bad Bad Good," 16 Sep. 2019 The crest of the MRD cranium, which is surprisingly modern, now challenges this view. — Hester Hanegraef, Quartz Africa, "The skull of humanity’s oldest known ancestor is changing our understanding of evolution," 7 Sep. 2019 By nightfall, some protesters had defaced a crest of the Chinese government at the liaison office with eggs and black ink, and had sprayed the building’s exterior with graffiti. — Mike Ives, BostonGlobe.com, "Police fire tear gas and rubber bullets in Hong Kong as protesters target Chinese office," 21 July 2019 By nightfall, some protesters had defaced a crest of the Chinese government at the liaison office with eggs and black ink, and had sprayed the building’s exterior with graffiti. — Mike Ives, New York Times, "Hong Kong Police Fire Tear Gas and Rubber Bullets; Protesters Target Beijing’s Office," 14 July 2019 Forecast now call for the maximum crest at 17 feet, two feet lower than earlier forecasts and three feet below the 20 foot height of the levees’ lowest points. — Tim Craig, Washington Post, "Louisiana braces for heavy rain and winds as Barry encroaches on Gulf Coast," 13 July 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The uptick in average velocity – cresting near 95 mph in his final start - is impossible to miss. — Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, "Rays All-Star Charlie Morton, peaking at 35, has no regrets about long road to stardom," 27 Aug. 2019 Nationwide, more than 90,000 pets were adopted, according to event organizers, including a 4 1/2-month-old white crested black Polish rooster in Connecticut. — Karen Pearlman, San Diego Union-Tribune, "‘Clear the Shelters’ a big success countywide," 21 Aug. 2019 In that time, Lake Michigan levels have risen nearly 6 feet, cresting just about an inch shy of monthly records set in the summer of 1986. — Tony Briscoe, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago to use drones to study Lake Michigan erosion as fall storms loom," 20 Aug. 2019 Anticipation rose — and then the ground began rumbling a little before 11 a.m. The herd soon crested the hill and funneled down the valley toward the corrals. — Patricia Harris, BostonGlobe.com, "Thundering out of an iconic American past: The Buffalo Roundup in South Dakota’s Custer State Park," 20 Aug. 2019 The dinosaur, which shares features with other members of the Saurolophidae family (like duck bills and crested heads) has a primitive facial structure that may hint at how Saurolophidae evolved. — Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, "This Duck-Billed Dino Is One Weird-Looking Creature," 18 July 2019 At Morgan City, the Atchafalaya is expected to crest at 9.5 feet during the third week of June, the third highest crest on record and the highest since May 2011. — Mark Schleifstein, nola.com, "Morganza Spillway opening delayed, but tropical system may also threaten New Orleans," 3 June 2019 Many homes in the low-lying community at the edge of the Ocala National Forest, 60 miles north of downtown Orlando, were swamped by floodwaters as the St. Johns crested 4.3 feet above flood-stage levels following Irma. — Jerry Fallstrom, orlandosentinel.com, "Hurricane Dorian: Astor, flooded during Irma, could be in for more," 31 Aug. 2019 Suddenly, a flash of black, red and white exploded from the greenery as the big, crested woodpecker swooped across our yard and into a neighbor’s tall oak. — Bruce Beehler, The Denver Post, "Guest Commentary: Why doom and gloom won’t help us fight climate change," 23 Aug. 2019

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