summit

1 of 2

noun

sum·​mit ˈsə-mət 

1

: top, apex

especially : the highest point : peak

2

: the topmost level attainable

the summit of human fame

3

a

: the highest level of officials

especially : the diplomatic level of heads of government

b

: a conference of highest-level officials (such as heads of government)

an economic summit

summit

2 of 2

verb

summited; summiting; summits

intransitive verb

1

: to participate in a summit conference

2

: to climb to the summit

summited on May 29

Synonyms

Noun

• acme
• apex
• apogee
• capstone
• climax
• crescendo
• crest
• crown
• culmination
• head
• height
• high noon
• high-water mark
• meridian
• ne plus ultra
• noon
• noontime
• peak
• pinnacle
• sum
• tip-top
• top
• zenith

Choose the Right Synonym for summit

summit, peak, pinnacle, climax, apex, acme, culmination mean the highest point attained or attainable.

summit implies the topmost level attainable.

at the summit of the Victorian social scene

peak suggests the highest among other high points.

an artist working at the peak of her powers

pinnacle suggests a dizzying and often insecure height.

the pinnacle of worldly success

climax implies the highest point in an ascending series.

the war was the climax to a series of hostile actions

apex implies the point where all ascending lines converge.

the apex of Dutch culture

acme implies a level of quality representing the perfection of a thing.

a statue that was once deemed the acme of beauty

culmination suggests the outcome of a growth or development representing an attained objective.

the culmination of years of effort

Examples of summit in a Sentence

Noun

The mountain range has summits over 10,000 feet high.

The climbers failed to reach the summit.

Leaders of several nations attended the economic summit.

A summit on global warming was held that year.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Elon Musk speaks during the New York Times annual DealBook summit on November 29, 2023 in New York City. —Lauren Goode, WIRED, 30 Nov. 2023

Hikers can reach the mountain summit using the East Summit Trail or the West Summit Trail. —Tony Holt, arkansasonline.com, 29 Nov. 2023

Putin, facing war crimes arrest, will skip BRICS summit in S. Africa Months earlier, Lavrov’s grandmother had died and his mother was hospitalized for severe mental illness. —Anastacia Galouchka, Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2023

Most of San Francisco will remain filthy, lawless and plagued with homeless encampments and drugs, and the Potemkin village will vanish after the summit. —WSJ, 17 Nov. 2023

The meeting comes less than three months after Biden hosted Kishida and Yoon for a historic summit at the Camp David presidential retreat. —Colleen Long, Fortune, 17 Nov. 2023

Xi Jinping went on a charm offensive during a dinner with business executives after the summit that included the CEOs of Apple, Boeing and FedEx. —Selina Wang, ABC News, 16 Nov. 2023

Some Asian-Americans in California, who account for about 16% of the state’s population, view this week’s talks and the broader summit as extremely consequential. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023

The Biden-Xi meeting and broader summit events attracted protests around San Francisco, but the demonstrations were kept at a distance. —Aamer Madhani, arkansasonline.com, 16 Nov. 2023

Verb

Since then, however, of the 6,000 people who have summited Everest just ~200 did so like Messner, without supplemental oxygen. —Seth Joseph, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023

The hiker, whose name and age were not released, was trying to summit a 13,000-foot ridge near Mount Princeton on Wednesday when dangerous weather moved in, Chaffee County Search and Rescue North said in a statement on its Facebook page. —Natalie Kainz, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2023

From Lance Armstrong to Roman Polanski to Robin Williams, the two-time Emmy winner has tackled subjects who have summited the heights of their professions and endured the humiliating depths as well. —Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 15 Sep. 2023

Leto summited the skyscraper on November 9 to promote the upcoming tour of his band 30 Seconds to Mars. —Jared Leto, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2023

In the past six years, three people have been killed trying to summit the peak, including two people who died in the summer of 2019. —Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2023

Hundreds of people were attempting to summit, crowding the mountain during a narrow weather window. —Eve Sampson, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023

The hiker, Jocelyn Bishop, 51, of Westford, had summited the mountain before the incident, Fish and Game said. —Breanne Kovatch, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Sep. 2023

These hikes also offer excellent access to additional day trips, like summiting Alta Peak or taking a dip in frigid Hamilton Lake. —Emily Pennington, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 June 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English somete, from Anglo-French sumet, diminutive of sum top, from Latin summum, neuter of summus highest — more at sum

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1955, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing summit

• pre-summit

• pre-summit

Kids Definition

summit

noun

sum·​mit

ˈsəm-ət

1

: top entry 1 sense 1a, apex

especially : the highest point (as of a mountain)

2

: the topmost level that can be reached

3

a

: the highest level of officials

especially : the diplomatic level of heads of government

b

: a conference of the highest-level officials (as heads of government)