culmination

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French culmination, from culminer, or from Medieval Latin culminatus + -tion. Morphologically culminate +‎ -ion

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌkʌl.məˈneɪ.ʃən/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌkʌl.mɪnˈeɪ.ʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

culmination (countable and uncountable, plural culminations)

1. (astronomy) The attainment of the highest point of altitude reached by a heavenly body; passage across the meridian; transit.
2. (UK) Endpoint (usually good) arrived at after some series of actions or events, or some period, usually after the series or period has ended. The sum of something.
3. (US) Attainment or arrival at the highest pitch of glory, power, etc.
4. (US) A ceremony marking the completion of studies at an elementary school, middle school or junior high school, the term "graduation" being reserved for high school.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:apex

Related terms

• culminate

Translations

astronomy: attainment of the highest point

• Armenian: բարձրակետ (hy) (barjraket), գագաթնակետ (hy) (gagatʻnaket)
• Bulgarian: зенит (bg) m (zenit)
• Finnish: kulminaatio
• German: Gipfelpunkt (de) m
• Greek: μεσημβρινή διάβαση (mesimvriní diávasi)
• Malay: perembangan​
• Persian: گذر (fa) (gozar), تکبد (takabbod)
• Polish: kulminacja (pl) f
• Russian: кульмина́ция (ru) f (kulʹminácija)
• Turkish: doruk (tr), zirve (tr)
• Ukrainian: кульміна́ція (uk) f (kulʹminácija)

arrival of the highest pitch of glory

• Bulgarian: кулминация (bg) f (kulminacija)
• Finnish: huippu (fi), huipentuma (fi), huippuhetki
• German: Höhepunkt (de) m
• Polish: kulminacja (pl) f
• Russian: кульмина́ция (ru) f (kulʹminácija), зени́т (ru) m (zenít)
• Turkish: bitiş (tr), nihayet (tr) (obsolescent), sonuçlanma (tr)

French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

culmination f (plural culminations)

1. culmination

Further reading

• “culmination”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.