zenith

American  

[zee-nith, zen-ith] / ˈzi nɪθ, ˈzɛn ɪθ /

noun

• zeniths
  plural

1. the point on the celestial sphere vertically above a given position or observer.

   Antonyms:

   nadir

2. a highest point or state; culmination.

   Synonyms:

   summit, apex

   Antonyms:

   nadir

---

zenith British  

/ ˈziːnɪθ, ˈzɛnɪθ /

noun

1. astronomy the point on the celestial sphere vertically above an observer

2. the highest point; peak; acme

   the zenith of someone's achievements

---

zenith Scientific  

/ zē′nĭth /

1. The point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer (90 degrees above the celestial horizon).

2. Compare nadir

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• zenithal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• zeniths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of zenith

1350–1400; Middle English cenith < Medieval Latin < Old Spanish zenit, scribal error for zemt < Arabic samt road, incorrectly read as senit by medieval scribes (compare Arabic samt ar-rās road above (over) one's head, the opposite of nadir )

Explanation

Zenith means the high point — it comes from astronomy, where it describes the highest point in an arc traveled by a star or a planet or another celestial body. The sun reaches its zenith when it is as high in the sky as it is going to go on that day. Zenith — and its opposite, nadir — have been appropriated by non-astronomers and are used to describe high and low points in non-astronomical contexts. For example, you can say that the high school quarterback hit his zenith in high school, and it was all downhill from there. Do yourself a favor and try to delay your zenith so you'll have something to look forward to in your future!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

zenith zeniths

They observe that even at the zenith of the dotcom bubble in 2000, eurozone stocks were only at 30 times by comparison.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

The phrasing hit its zenith in the second half of 2025, with AlphaSense logging 73 documents with such sentence structure in the final quarter, or more than once a business day.

From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026

Times staffer takes the stage at Coachella For most artists, landing a gig at the most prestigious music festival happens at the zenith of their career.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026

That reputation had reached its zenith by late 2024, when the firm was drawing takeover interest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026

After the sun passes zenith it is afternoon and quickly evening with a whispering dusk as long as was the morning.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

The sweater’s the color of outfits his forefathers donned, in 1983, doing standup at and near their zeniths.

From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2022

Somebody with a much bigger degree than I’ll ever get might look back and do an analysis of periods of history when horror movies have had their zeniths.

From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2018

Producer Carroll's tenth durbar is not a perpetual triumph, but it reaches zeniths of one sort and another.

From Time Magazine Archive

Will James has had his zeniths and his nadirs.

From Time Magazine Archive

But 7° 12' is equal to the fiftieth part of a great circle; and this, therefore, was the measure of the celestial arc contained between the zeniths of Syene and Alexandria.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels - Volume 18 Historical Sketch of the Progress of Discovery, Navigation, and Commerce, from the Earliest Records to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century, By William Stevenson by Stevenson, William