culminate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to reach the highest point, summit, or highest development (usually followed by in).
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to end or arrive at a final stage (usually followed by in).
The argument culminated in a fistfight.
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to rise to or form an apex; terminate (usually followed by in).
The tower culminates in a tall spire.
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Astronomy. (of a celestial body) to be on the meridian, or reach the highest or the lowest altitude.
verb (used with object)
verb
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to end or cause to end, esp to reach or bring to a final or climactic stage
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(intr) (of a celestial body) to cross the meridian of the observer
Etymology
Origin of culminate
First recorded in 1640–50; from Late Latin culminātus (past participle of culmināre to come to a peak), equivalent to Latin culmin- (stem of culmen ) “peak, top” + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
The verb culminate is used to describe a high point or a climactic stage in a process. For example, the goal of a Major League baseball team is to have their season culminate in a World Series victory. The word culminate derives from the Latin word culminatus, the past participle of culminare, which means "to top or crown." Use culminate when you are referring to a crowning moment or a final conclusion: “I want my experiments combining strawberry jam with burnt toast to culminate in a Nobel Prize in Chemistry — or at least a lucrative contract with a major food supplier.”
Vocabulary lists containing culminate
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Unbroken
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That her quest will culminate in the mountains of northern Italy just two months from now will make it must-watch television and social media video.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025
“We continue to expect that the year will culminate in what we hope will be quite a strong year-end in quarter four.”
From MarketWatch • Nov. 5, 2025
US President Donald Trump on Monday left Malaysia for Japan, on the second leg of an Asia tour expected to culminate in a meeting with China's leader Xi Jinping.
From Barron's • Oct. 27, 2025
The oil giant’s layoffs, amounting to about 3% of its global workforce, culminate a yearslong push to consolidate offices and thin its ranks as it targets billions of dollars in annual structural costs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 30, 2025
Occasionally one of her infatuations would culminate in a lunch or coffee date, an encounter on which she would pin all her hopes but which would lead to nothing.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
