peak
/piːk/ noun, verb, adjective, proper noun
Forms peaks peaking peaked
- noun A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap.
- noun The highest value reached by some quantity in a time period. “The stock market reached a peak in September 1929.”
- noun (geography) The top, or one of the tops, of a hill, mountain, or range, ending in a point. “They reached the peak after 8 hours of climbing.”
- noun (geography) The whole hill or mountain, especially when isolated.
- noun (clothing, UK) visor (horizontal part of a cap sticking out in front and shading the wearer's eyes)
- noun (nautical) The upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail. “peak-halyards”
- noun (nautical) The narrow part of a vessel's bow, or the hold within it.
- noun (nautical) The extremity of an anchor fluke; the bill.
- verb (transitive, nautical) To raise the point of (a gaff) closer to perpendicular.
- verb (transitive, signal processing) To exceed the maximum signal amplitude of (a piece of equipment), resulting in clipping of the signal.
- verb To reach a highest degree or maximum. “Historians argue about when the Roman Empire began to peak and ultimately decay.”
- verb To rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear as, a peak.
- verb (of a person) To reach the highest level of success or greatness in one's lifetime.
- verb (of a person on drugs) To reach the point of strongest effect from a drug.
- adjective At the greatest extent; maximum. “peak oil, Peak TV”
- adjective (slang) Maximal, quintessential, archetypical, strictly with positive connotations; representing the culmination of its type. “Knowing obscure 19th-century slang is peak nerd.”
- adjective (MLE) Bad.
- adjective (MLE) Unlucky; unfortunate. “You didn't get a spot? That's peak.”
- adjective (Internet slang) Very good or high-quality. “That movie last night was so peak.”
- verb (intransitive) To become sick or wan.
Synonyms
apex pinnacle acme zenith apogee apotheosis ascendance capstone climax coronation crown culmination extreme fastigium high note high point high tide high-water mark midday Mount Everest extremum flower prime heyday bloom blossom efflorescence flush height elevation
Etymology
From earlier peake, peek, peke, from Middle English pek (in place names), itself an alteration of pike, pyke, pyk (“a sharp point, pike”), from Old English pīc, piic (“a pike, needle, pin, peak, pinnacle”), from Proto-West Germanic *pīk, from Proto-Germanic *pīkaz (“peak”).
Cognate with Dutch piek (“pike, point, summit, peak”), Danish pik (“pike, peak”), Swedish pik (“pike, lance, point, peak”), Norwegian pik (“peak, summit”). More at pike.
Unknown. Perhaps related to Etymology 1 above in the sense of "becoming pointed" through emaciation.
* As an English surname, from several placenames in England derived from the noun peak or its source.
* Also as an English surname, shortened from Peacock.
* As an Irish surname, shortened from McPeak.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap. "Run your beard into a peak." Beau. & Fl.
- noun The top, or one of the tops, of a hill, mountain, or range, ending in a point; often, the whole hill or mountain, esp. when isolated; as, the Peak of Teneriffe.
- verb To rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear as, a peak.
- verb To acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look thin or sicky. "Dwindle, peak, and pine." Shak.
Etymology [OE. pek, AS. peac, perh of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. peac a sharp-pointed thing. Cf. Pike.]
Etymology [Cf. Peek.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “peak”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details