pinnacle
pinnacle Lexical Profile
pinnacle Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The highest or most successful point of achievement, development, or status; a culmination.
"Winning the Nobel Prize marked the absolute pinnacle of her scientific career."
A high, pointed piece of rock or mountain peak.
"The climbers carefully navigated the narrow limestone pinnacle rising above the canyon floor."
A small, pointed turret built as an ornament on a roof, buttress, or parapet, especially in Gothic architecture.
"Carved stone pinnacles line the flying buttresses of the medieval cathedral."
• verb
To place on or as if on a pinnacle; to crown or furnish with architectural pinnacles.
"A gleaming bronze statue was pinnacled atop the central dome of the capitol."
To form a high peak or reach the highest point of culmination.
"Jagged granite cliffs pinnacle sharply against the northern horizon."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'pinnacle' (a peak or culmination) with 'pinochle' (a trick-taking card game).
• Rhymes for pinnacle
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French 'pinacle', from Late Latin 'pinnaculum' (a gable or small peak), which is a diminutive of Latin 'pinna' meaning 'wing', 'feather', or 'battlement'.