peak

peak
peak1
peakless, adj.peaklike, adj.
/peek/, n.
1. the pointed top of a mountain or ridge.
2. a mountain with a pointed summit.
3. the pointed top of anything.
4. the highest or most important point or level: the peak of her political career.
5. the maximum point, degree, or volume of anything: Oil prices reached their peak last year.
6. a time of the day or year when traffic, use, demand, etc., is greatest and charges, fares, or the like are at the maximum: Early evening is the peak on commuter railroads.
7. the higher fare, charges, etc., during such a period: If you fly during the Christmas holidays, you'll have to pay peak.
8. Physics.
a. the maximum value of a quantity during a specified time interval: a voltage peak.
b. the maximum power consumed or produced by a unit or group of units in a stated period of time.
9. a projecting point: the peak of a man's beard.
10. See widow's peak.
11. a projecting front piece, or visor, of a cap.
12. Phonet. nucleus (def. 8a).
13. Naut.
a. the contracted part of a ship's hull at the bow or the stern.
b. the upper after corner of a sail that is extended by a gaff. See diag. under sail.
c. the outer extremity of a gaff.
v.i.
14. to project in a peak.
15. to attain a peak of activity, development, popularity, etc.: The artist peaked in the 1950s.
v.t.
16. Naut. to raise the after end of (a yard, gaff, etc.) to or toward an angle above the horizontal.
adj.
17. being at the point of maximum frequency, intensity, use, etc.; busiest or most active: Hotel rooms are most expensive during the peak travel seasons.
18. constituting the highest or maximum level, volume, etc.; optimal; prime: a machine running at peak performance.
[1520-30; perh. < MLG pek pick, pike]
Syn. 2, 4. pinnacle. 4. acme, zenith.
Ant. 4. abyss, nadir.
peak2
peakish, adj.peakishly, adv.peakishness, n.
/peek/, v.i.
to become weak, thin, and sickly.
[1500-10; orig. uncert.]

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(as used in expressions)
Adam's Peak

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Peak — Peak, n. [OE. pek, AS. peac, perh of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. peac a sharp pointed thing. Cf. {Pike}.] 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 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Peak — 〈[pi:k] m. 6〉 1. 〈Phys.〉 Spitzenwert eines Signals o. Ä. 2. 〈allg.〉 Spitze, Spitzenwert, Höhepunkt 3. Bergspitze, gipfel (bes. in engl. Namen); →a. Pik1 [engl., „Spitze, Gipfel“] * * * Peak [ pi:k; engl. Gipfel, Spitze, Scheitelpunkt], der; s, s …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Peak — Peak, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Peaked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Peaking}.] 1. To rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear as, a peak. [1913 Webster] There peaketh up a mighty high mount. Holand. [1913 Webster] 2. To acquire sharpness of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • peak — peak1 [pēk] vi. [< ?] to become sickly; waste away; droop peak2 [pēk] n. [var. of PIKE5] 1. a tapering part that projects; pointed end or top, as of a cap, roof, etc. 2. part of the hairline coming to a point on the forehead; widow s peak …   English World dictionary

  • Peak — Peak, v. t. (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. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Peak — (High Peak, spr. hai pīk, P. von Derby), ein breites Plateau mit steilen Wänden und tief eingeschnittenen Tälern im nördlichen Derbyshire (England), das zur Penninischen Kette gehört und vom Derwent, Dove und Wye bewässert wird. Es erreicht im… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Peak — Peak, SC U.S. town in South Carolina Population (2000): 61 Housing Units (2000): 36 Land area (2000): 0.268859 sq. miles (0.696341 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000671 sq. miles (0.001738 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.269530 sq. miles (0.698079 sq …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Peak, SC — U.S. town in South Carolina Population (2000): 61 Housing Units (2000): 36 Land area (2000): 0.268859 sq. miles (0.696341 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000671 sq. miles (0.001738 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.269530 sq. miles (0.698079 sq. km) FIPS …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • peak — pointed top, 1520s, variant of PIKE (Cf. pike) (2) sharp point. Meaning top of a mountain first recorded 1630s, though pike was used in this sense c.1400. Figurative sense is 1784. Meaning point formed by hair on the forehead is from 1833. The… …   Etymology dictionary

  • peak — [n1] top of something aiguille, alp, apex, brow, bump, cope, crest, crown, hill, mount, mountain, pinnacle, point, roof, spike, summit, tip, vertex; concepts 509,836 Ant. base, bottom, nadir peak [n2] maximum, zenith acme, apex, apogee, capstone …   New thesaurus

  • peak|y — «PEE kee», adjective, peak|i|er, peak|i|est. 1. peaked or pointed; peaklike. 2. abounding in peaks …   Useful english dictionary

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