culminate

verb

cul·​mi·​nate ˈkəl-mə-ˌnāt 

culminated; culminating

intransitive verb

1

of a celestial body : to reach its highest altitude

During the summer solstice, the sun culminates over the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere.

also : to be directly overhead

2

a

: to rise to or form a summit

… enormous waves culminated and fell with the report of thunder.

—Frederick Marryat

b

: to reach the highest or a climactic or decisive point

Her long acting career culminated when she won the Oscar.

transitive verb

: to bring to a head or to the highest point

The contract culminated weeks of negotiations.

Did you know?

When a star or other heavenly body culminates, it reaches its highest point above the horizon from the vantage point of an observer on the ground. Culminate was drawn from Medieval Latin culminare, meaning "to crown," specifically for this astronomical application. Its ultimate root is Latin culmen, meaning "top." Today, the word’s typical context is less lofty: it can mean “to reach a climactic point,” as in “a long career culminating in a prestigious award,” but it can also simply mean "to reach the end of something,” as in “a sentence culminating in a period.”

Synonyms

• cap (off)
• climax
• crown

Examples of culminate in a Sentence

A bitter feud culminated months of tension.

culminated the school year with a trip to New York

Recent Examples on the Web

The culminating 1950s dance in the school gym gets into high-energy flapping hoop skirt territory. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 6 June 2025

The festival culminates with the city’s Pride Parade on June 7 and a massive rally and march from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol on June 8. —Susan Miller, USA Today, 6 June 2025

The forward-looking entails thinking about the progress of AI on a year-by-year basis, starting now and culminating in arriving at AGI in 2040. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025

This recent reunion saw the pair once again delighting WWE fans, this time largely as babyfaces, culminating in a feel-good moment at WrestleMania 40 in April 2024. —Andrew Ravens‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin culminatus, past participle of culminare, from Late Latin, to crown, from Latin culmin-, culmen top — more at hill

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for culminate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

culminate

verb

cul·​mi·​nate ˈkəl-mə-ˌnāt 

culminated; culminating

: to reach the highest point

culmination

ˌkəl-mə-ˈnā-shən

noun