culminate

Recorded since 1647, from Medieval Latin culminatus, the past participle of culminare (“to crown”), from Latin culmen (“peak, the highest point”), older form columen (“top, summit”), from a Proto-Indo-European base *kol-, *kel- (“to project, rise; peak, summit, top”), whence also English hill and holm.

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culminate (third-person singular simple present culminates, present participle culminating, simple past and past participle culminated)

1. (intransitive, astronomy) Of a heavenly body, to be at the highest point, reach its greatest altitude.
2. (intransitive, also figuratively) To reach the (physical) summit, highest point, peak etc.

   Synonym: peak

   • Milton

     As when his beams at noon / Culminate from the equator.

   • Dana

     The reptile race culminated in the secondary era.

   • Motley

     The house of Burgundy was rapidly culminating.

3. (intransitive, figuratively) To reach a climax; to come to the decisive point (especially as an end or conclusion).
   • 2006 September 12, “President Bush’s Reality”, in New York Times‎:

     Mr. Bush has been marking the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11 with a series of speeches about terrorism that culminated with his televised address last night.

   Their messy breakup culminated in a restraining order.

   The class will culminate with a rigorous examination.

4. (transitive) To finalize, bring to a conclusion, form the climax of.
   • 2010, "By the skin of her teeth", The Economist, 7 Sep 2010:

     The announcement by Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott in Canberra culminated more than a fortnight of intensive political horse-trading.

• culm
• culminant
• culmination
• culminating
• culminated

culminate (not comparable)

1. (anatomy) Relating to the culmen

• culminate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• culminate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

culminate

1. second-person plural present indicative of culminare
2. second-person plural imperative of culminare