summit

1 of 2

noun

sum·​mit ˈsə-mət How to pronounce summit (audio)
Synonyms of summitnext
1
: top, apex
especially : the highest point : peak
2
: the topmost level attainable
the summit of human fame
3
a
: the highest level of officials
especially : the diplomatic level of heads of government
b
: a conference of highest-level officials (such as heads of government)
an economic summit

summit

2 of 2

verb

summited; summiting; summits

intransitive verb

1
: to participate in a summit conference
2
: to climb to the summit
summited on May 29

Synonyms

Noun

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 
Choose the Right Synonym for summit

summit, peak, pinnacle, climax, apex, acme, culmination mean the highest point attained or attainable.

summit implies the topmost level attainable.

at the summit of the Victorian social scene

peak suggests the highest among other high points.

an artist working at the peak of her powers

pinnacle suggests a dizzying and often insecure height.

the pinnacle of worldly success

climax implies the highest point in an ascending series.

the war was the climax to a series of hostile actions

apex implies the point where all ascending lines converge.

the apex of Dutch culture

acme implies a level of quality representing the perfection of a thing.

a statue that was once deemed the acme of beauty

culmination suggests the outcome of a growth or development representing an attained objective.

the culmination of years of effort

Examples of summit in a Sentence

Noun The mountain range has summits over 10,000 feet high. The climbers failed to reach the summit. Leaders of several nations attended the economic summit. A summit on global warming was held that year.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
If finding indoor shelter is not an option: • Stay away from open fields, hill summits, or ridge tops. —Star-Telegram Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Apr. 2024 This year’s summit features a variety of speakers across a diverse range of sectors, including politics, business, health and science, culture, and more. —Sanya Mansoor, TIME, 25 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for summit 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'summit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English somete, from Anglo-French sumet, diminutive of sum top, from Latin summum, neuter of summus highest — more at sum

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1955, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of summit was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing summit

Dictionary Entries Near summit

summist

summit

summiteer

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Summit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/summit. Accessed 3 May. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

summit

noun
sum·​mit
ˈsəm-ət
1
: top entry 1 sense 1a, apex
especially : the highest point (as of a mountain)
2
: the topmost level that can be reached
3
a
: the highest level of officials
especially : the diplomatic level of heads of government
b
: a conference of the highest-level officials (as heads of government)

More from Merriam-Webster on summit

Nglish: Translation of summit for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of summit for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about summit

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

What’s the difference between ‘hillbilly’ and ‘redneck’?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

12 Star Wars Words

The Words of the Week - May 3

9 Superb Owl Words

10 Words for Lesser-Known Games and Sports

Your Favorite Band is in the Dictionary
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...