culminate
verb
cul·mi·nate
| \ ˈkəl-mə-ˌnāt
\
\
culminated;
culminating
Definition of culminate
1
of a celestial body
: to reach its highest altitude
During the summer solstice, the sun culminates over the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere.
also
: to be directly overhead
2a
: to rise to or form a summit
… enormous waves culminated and fell with the report of thunder.— Frederick Marryat
b
: to reach the highest or a climactic or decisive point
Her long acting career culminated when she won the Oscar.
: to bring to a head or to the highest point
The contract culminated weeks of negotiations.
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Examples of culminate in a Sentence
A bitter feud culminated months of tension.
culminated the school year with a trip to New York
Recent Examples on the Web
The most famous front-porch campaigns were in the 1880s and 1890s, culminating in William McKinley’s successful bid in 1896. — Jonah Goldberg, National Review, "Biden’s Best Bet Is a Front-Porch Campaign," 30 Aug. 2019 Mark has led our program to outstanding on-field results these last six seasons, culminating in a historic 2018, as well as success in recruiting and player development. — Jon Hale, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky rewards Mark Stoops with raise after historic 2018 season," 29 Aug. 2019 The question over what sort of roads should be built in America's remaining wild forests sparked intense battles in the 1990s, culminating in the 2001 rule affecting a third of the Forest Service's holdings in a dozen states. — Anchorage Daily News, "Trump pushes to allow new logging in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest," 27 Aug. 2019 During those years, the company put out a succession of world-beating race cars, culminating in the Porsche 917, which did so well in endurance and CanAm racing in the early 1970s. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "Ferdinand Piëch dies, father of the Porsche 917 and Bugatti Veyron," 26 Aug. 2019 Tensions rise when the factory doesn’t initially meet production goals, culminating in a bitter fight over the right to unionize. — David Bauder, BostonGlobe.com, "First Netflix project endorsed by Obamas debuts today," 21 Aug. 2019 Tensions rise when the factory doesn’t initially meet production goals, culminating in a bitter fight over the right to unionize. — Washington Post, "Film on factory is first Netflix project endorsed by Obamas," 21 Aug. 2019 The Northern Trust is the first of the three Fed Ex Cup playoff events, culminating in the Tour Championship, which Woods won last year for his first title since 2013 after making an impressive recovery from long-term back problems. — Rob Hodgetts, CNN, "Tiger Woods withdraws from PGA Tour event with side strain," 9 Aug. 2019 Brady led several more big comebacks, culminating in a wild Orange Bowl victory in OT that left the Wolverines at 10-3 and ranked fifth overall in the coaches' poll. — Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, "Why Michigan, MSU's high Coaches' Poll rank doesn't guarantee wins," 5 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'culminate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for culminate
culminate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of culminate
: to reach the end or the final result of something
somewhat formal
: to be the end or final result of (something)
See the full definition for culminate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
culminate
verb
cul·mi·nate
| \ ˈkəl-mə-ˌnāt
\
\
culminated;
culminating
Kids Definition of culminate
: to reach the end or the final result of
Her campaign culminated with a victory.
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