climacteric

[ klahy-mak-ter-ik, klahy-mak-ter-ik ]

noun

1. Physiology. a period of decrease of reproductive capacity in men and women, culminating, in women, in the menopause.
2. any critical period.
3. a year in which important changes in health, fortune, etc., are held by some theories to occur, as one's sixty-third year grand climacteric.
4. the period of maximum respiration in a fruit, during which it becomes fully ripened.

adjective

1. Also cli·mac·ter·i·cal [] critical; crucial.

climacteric

/ ˌklaɪmækˈtɛrɪk; klaɪˈmæktərɪk /

noun

1. a critical event or period
2. another name for menopause
3. the period in the life of a man corresponding to the menopause, chiefly characterized by diminished sexual activity
4. botany the period during which certain fruits, such as apples, ripen, marked by a rise in the rate of respiration

adjective

1. involving a crucial event or period

Derived Forms

• ˌclimacˈterically, adverb

Other Words From

• climac·teri·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of climacteric¹

1595–1605; < Latin clīmactēricus < Greek klīmaktērikós ( klīmaktḗr rung of a ladder, critical point in life, equivalent to klīmak-, stem of klîmax ( climax ) + -tēr noun suffix) + -ikos -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of climacteric¹

C16: from Latin clīmactēricus, from Greek klimaktērikos, from klimakter rung of a ladder, from klimax ladder; see climax

Example Sentences

Tomatoes are climacteric, meaning they will continue to ripen after they are picked.

From Washington Post

These are called climacteric, and will respond to the presence of ethylene by producing more ethylene.

From Washington Post

The timing of the “climacteric” — Sam prefers the medical term, more suitably dramatic — comes as its own kind of cruelty.

From New York Times

“The climacteric marks the end of apologising. The chrysalis of conditioning has once and for all to break and the female woman finally to emerge.”

From The Guardian

Mr. Broadbent said, in a subsequent statement, that he had been trying to explain the word “climacteric,” used by economic historians to describe a period of low productivity growth during the 19th century.

From Wall Street Journal