to become sickly; waste away; droop
Origin of peak
from uncertain or unknown; perhaps
A snow covered mountain peak.
- An example of a peak is the top of a mountain.
- An example of a peak is the most successful time of a person's life.
The definition of a peak is the highest point of something.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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peak. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PEAK
peak
- a tapering part that projects; pointed end or top, as of a cap, roof, etc.
- part of the hairline coming to a point on the forehead; widow's peak
- Rare a promontory
- the crest or summit of a hill or mountain ending in a point
- a mountain with such a pointed summit
- the highest or utmost point of anything; height; maximum: the peak of production
- Elec. the maximum value of a varying quantity during a specified period
- Naut.
- the top, after corner of a gaff sail
- the upper end of the gaff
- the narrowed part of the hull, forward or aft
- Phonet. the most sonorous portion of a syllable
Origin of peak
variant, variety of pike maximum: peak production
- to tilt up, as a spar or oar
- to come or cause to come to a peak; reach or bring to a high, or the highest, point
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"peak." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PEAK>.
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peak. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PEAK
peak
noun
- A tapering, projecting point; a pointed extremity: the peak of a cap; the peak of a roof.
- a. The pointed summit of a mountain.b. The mountain itself.
- a. The point of a beard.b. A widow's peak.
- The point of greatest development, value, or intensity: a novel written at the peak of the writer's career. See Synonyms at summit.
- Physics The highest value attained by a varying quantity: a peak in current.
- Nautical a. The narrow portion of a ship's hull at the bow or stern.b. The upper aft corner of a quadrilateral fore-and-aft sail.c. The outermost end of a gaff.
verb
peaked, peak·ing, peaksverb
transitive- Nautical To raise (a gaff) above the horizontal.
- To bring to a maximum of development, value, or intensity.
verb
intransitive- To be formed into a peak or peaks: Beat the egg whites until they peak.
- To achieve a maximum of development, value, or intensity: Sales tend to peak just before the holidays.
adjective
Approaching or constituting the maximum: working at peak efficiency.
Origin of peak
Probably Middle English pike, peke ; see pike 5.intransitive verb
peaked, peak·ing, peaks ArchaicTo become sickly, emaciated, or pale.
Origin of peak
Origin unknownTHE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"peak." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PEAK>.
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peak. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PEAK
Noun
(plural peaks)
- A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap.
- The highest value reached by some quantity in a time period.
- The stock market reached a peak in September 1929.
- (geography) The top, or one of the tops, of a hill, mountain, or range, ending in a point; often, the whole hill or mountain, especially when isolated; as, the Peak of Teneriffe.
- (nautical) The upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail; -- used in many combinations; as, peak-halyards, peak-brails, etc.
- (nautical) The narrow part of a vessel's bow, or the hold within it.
- (nautical) The extremity of an anchor fluke; the bill.
- (mathematics) A local maximum of a function, e.g. for sine waves, each point at which the value of y is at its maximum.
Verb
(third-person singular simple present peaks, present participle peaking, simple past and past participle peaked)
Verb
(third-person singular simple present peaks, present participle peaking, simple past and past participle peaked)
- (intransitive) To become sick or wan.
- (intransitive) To acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look thin or sickly.
- (intransitive) To pry; to peep slyly.
Origin
Unknown
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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"peak." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PEAK>.
APA Style
peak. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PEAK
Sentence Examples
- The peak was flattened.
- Nature was at her peak, blending the wild blooms with various shades of green.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau both climbed the peak multiple times and praised it in their writings.
- He led her through the small encampment toward the mountain and up a smooth walkway to the flattened peak of one ridge.
- The moon reached its peak before he'd finished inspecting the walls and greeting its guards.
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