zenith

noun ze·nith \ ˈzē-nəth , Canadian also and British usually ˈze-nəth , -nith \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Editor's Note: Reaching the zenith

Definition of zenith

1 : the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the nadir and vertically above the observer — see azimuth illustration

2 : the highest point reached in the heavens by a celestial body

3 : culminating point : acme

at the zenith of his powers
—John Buchan

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Examples of zenith in a Sentence

at the zenith of her career as a dancer

Recent Examples of zenith from the Web

The sixth inning was the zenith after Oriente led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch but never got home.

— randy rosetta, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville baseball one defeat from NCAA elimination after Texas Tech loss," 3 June 2018
The World Cup elevates every emotion to it's zenith.

— SI.com, "7 of the Most Euphoric Moments in World Cup History," 31 May 2018
On the ARIA Albums Chart, Post Malone’s beerbongs & bentleys (Universal) returns to the zenith with a 5-1 climb, as his debut album Stoney improves 20-17.

— lars brandle, Billboard, "5 Seconds Of Summer Hit No. 1 on Australia's Singles Chart With 'Youngblood'," 28 May 2018
Get our daily newsletter By then, though, the power of the church had already passed its zenith.

— The Economist, "Ireland votes solidly to allow abortion," 31 May 2018
Don Blankenship could be on his way to becoming a study in how anti-establishment politics can backfire, even in the zenith of anti-establishment politics.

— amber phillips, Washington Post, "‘Cocaine Mitch’: This West Virginia Senate GOP candidate takes anti-establishment politics off the rails," 1 May 2018
That moment proved to be the zenith of both careers with the Mets.

— dom amore, courant.com, "For Terry Collins, Matt Harvey's Fall Has Been Hard To Watch," 8 May 2018
Kennedy, 81, has been tight-lipped about his plans, and his clout as the court's swing vote is at its zenith.

— richard wolf, USA TODAY, "No vacancy (yet): Liberals, conservatives prepare to battle for control of Supreme Court," 30 Apr. 2018
At its zenith, 600 miners lived in this company town, eventually digging 70 miles of tunnels in the mountain above the mill.

— nathaniel wilder, Smithsonian, "A Daring Journey Into the Big Unknown of America’s Largest National Park," 18 Apr. 2018

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

Reaching the zenith

When you reach the zenith, you're at the top, the pinnacle, the summit, the peak. Zenith developed from Arabic terms meaning "the way over one's head," and then traveled through Old Spanish, Medieval Latin, and Middle French before arriving in English. As long ago as the 1300s, English speakers used zenith to name the highest point in the celestial heavens, directly overhead. By the 1600s, zenith was being used for other high points as well. The celestial term is often contrasted with nadir, or the point that is vertically downward from the observer (imagine a line going through the earth from the observer's feet and out the other side into the sky). Figuratively, nadir simply means "the lowest point."

Origin and Etymology of zenith

Middle English cenyth, senyth, from Middle French cenit, from Medieval Latin, from Old Spanish zenit, modification of Arabic samt (al-ra's) way (over one's head)

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year