pinnacle Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (architecture) a slender upright spire at the top of a buttress of tower
  2. noun the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
    superlative; acme; top; height; summit; peak; 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
  3. noun a lofty peak
  4. verb surmount with a pinnacle
    • pinnacle a pediment
  5. verb raise on or as if on a pinnacle
    • He did not want to be pinnacled

WordNet

Pin"na*cle noun
Etymology
OE. pinacle, F. pinacle, L. pinnaculum, fr. pinna pinnacle, feather. See Pin a peg.
Definitions
  1. (Arch.) An architectural member, upright, and generally ending in a small spire, -- used to finish a buttress, to constitute a part in a proportion, as where pinnacles flank a gable or spire, and the like. Pinnacles may be considered primarily as added weight, where it is necessary to resist the thrust of an arch, etc.
    Some renowned metropolis With glistering spires and pinnacles around. Milton.
  2. Anything resembling a pinnacle; a lofty peak; a pointed summit.
    Three silent pinnacles of aged snow. Tennyson.
    The slippery tops of human state, The gilded pinnacles of fate. Cowley.
Pin"na*cle transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Pinnacled ; present participle & verbal noun Pinnacling
Definitions
  1. To build or furnish with a pinnacle or pinnacles. T. Warton.

Webster 1913