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 events culminate in America's largest Armed Forces Torchlight Parade in downtown Spokane. —Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2024

The tense meeting with the agents — two men and a woman — culminated in a back-and-forth on civil liberties. —Hannah Allam, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024

After several years of bleeding red ink, Elliott, a specialist in fixing distressed businesses, managed to get Milan back on track, culminating in the 2022 championship. —Paolo Confino, Fortune, 30 Mar. 2024

The performance sparked outrage in Nashville and culminated in controversial conversations about her place in country as a Black woman. —Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 29 Mar. 2024

The Roman war culminated in a large-scale Jewish uprising in Judea that was ultimately crushed in the year 136, a catastrophe that precipitated the demise of the Jewish center of Jesus’s movement. —James Carroll, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024

Following Pretty Woman’s box office success, the actor had a career resurgence throughout the ‘90s, culminating with the title of PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive in 1999. —Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 23 Mar. 2024

Smith put Trump at the heart of three conspiracies that culminated on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to obstruct Congress’s role in ratifying the Electoral College outcome. —Adam Goldman, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024

More books and honors followed — poet-in-residence, National Book Award finalist, University of Michigan professorship, Academy of American Poets fellowship — culminating in his 1976 Bicentennial appointment as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, known now as poet laureate. —Tom Stanton, Detroit Free Press, 23 Mar. 2024

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

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Kids Definition

culminate

verb

cul·​mi·​nate ˈkəl-mə-ˌnāt 

culminated; culminating

: to reach the highest point

culmination

ˌkəl-mə-ˈnā-shən

noun