peak Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the most extreme possible amount or value
    extremum.
    • voltage peak
  2. noun the period of greatest prosperity or productivity
    prime; flower; blossom; efflorescence; flush; bloom; heyday.
  3. noun the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
    superlative; pinnacle; acme; top; height; summit; elevation; tiptop; meridian.
    • his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty
    • the artist's gifts are at their acme
    • at the height of her career
    • the peak of perfection
    • summer was at its peak
    • ...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle of fame
    • the summit of his ambition
    • so many highest superlatives achieved by man
    • at the top of his profession
  4. noun the top or extreme point of something (usually a mountain or hill)
    crown; top; tip; summit; crest.
    • the view from the peak was magnificent
    • they clambered to the tip of Monadnock
    • the region is a few molecules wide at the summit
  5. noun a V shape
    tip; point.
    • the cannibal's teeth were filed to sharp points
  6. noun the highest point (of something)
    apex; vertex; acme.
    • at the peak of the pyramid
  7. noun a brim that projects to the front to shade the eyes
    bill; visor; eyeshade; vizor.
    • he pulled down the bill of his cap and trudged ahead
  8. verb to reach the highest point; attain maximum intensity, activity
    top out.
    • That wild, speculative spirit peaked in 1929
    • Bids for the painting topped out at $50 million

WordNet

Peak noun
Etymology
OE. pek, AS. peac, perh of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. peac a sharp-pointed thing. Cf. Pike.
Definitions
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
    Silent upon a peak in Darien. Keats.
  3. (Naut.) (a) The upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail; -- used in many combinations; as, peak-halyards, peak-brails, etc. (b) The narrow part of a vessel's bow, or the hold within it. (c) The extremity of an anchor fluke; the bill. In the last sense written also pea and pee.
Peak intransitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Peaked ; present participle & verbal noun Peaking
Definitions
  1. To rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear as, a peak.
    There peaketh up a mighty high mount. Holand.
  2. To acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look thin or sicky. "Dwindle, peak, and pine." Shak.
  3. Cf. Peek. To pry; to peep slyly. Shak.
Peak transitive verb
Definitions
  1. (Naut.) To raise to a position perpendicular, or more nearly so; as, to peak oars, to hold them upright; to peak a gaff or yard, to set it nearer the perpendicular.

Webster 1913