A summit is a meeting at which the leaders of two or more countries discuss important matters.
...next week's Washington summit.
...the NATO summit meeting in Rome.
2. countable noun
The summit of a mountain is the top of it.
...the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Synonyms: peak, top, tip, pinnacle More Synonyms of summit
More Synonyms of summit
summit in British English
(ˈsʌmɪt)
noun
1.
the highest point or part, esp of a mountain or line of communication; top
2.
the highest possible degree or state; peak or climax
the summit of ambition
3.
the highest level, importance, or rank
a meeting at the summit
4.
a.
a meeting of chiefs of governments or other high officials
b.
(as modifier)
a summit conference
Derived forms
summital (ˈsummital)
adjective
summitless (ˈsummitless)
adjective
Word origin
C15: from Old French somet, diminutive of som, from Latin summum; see sum1
summit in American English
(ˈsʌmɪt)
noun
1.
the highest point, part, or elevation; top or apex
2.
the highest degree or state; acme
3. US
a.
the highest level of officials; specif., in connection with diplomatic negotiations, the level restricted to heads of government
a meeting at the summit
b.
a conference at the summit
adjective
4. US
of the heads of government
a summit parley
SYNONYMY NOTE: summit literally refers to the topmost point of a hill or similar elevation and, figuratively,to the highest attainable level, as of achievement; , peak1 refers to the highest of a number of high points, as in a mountain range or, figuratively,in a graph; , climax applies to the highest point, as in interest, force, excitement, etc., in a scaleof ascending values; , acme refers to the highest possible point of perfection in the development or progressof something; , apex suggests the highest point (literally, of a geometric figure such as a cone; figuratively,of a career, process, etc.) where all ascending lines, courses, etc. ultimately meet;, pinnacle, in its figurative uses, is equivalent to , summit or , peak2, but sometimes connotes a giddy or unsteady height; , zenith literally refers to the highest point in the heavens and hence figuratively suggestsfame or success reached by a spectacular rise
Word origin
ME sommete < OFr, dim. of som, summit < L summum, highest part < summus, highest: see sum
Examples of 'summit' in a sentence
summit
Much of what happens next could depend on two looming summits.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
This is why climbers sleep at base camps and higher stages before ascending to a high summit.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Can summit meetings of the two superpowers now make unnecessary our alliance systems?
Abshire, David M. Preventing World War III - A Realistic Grand Strategy (1988)
The exhilaration of a mountain summit or the thrill of abseiling into a gorge are experiences that will stay with them.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
To reach this summit, they will need the sublime touch.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Then he will host a jobs summit next Monday.
The Sun (2009)
More than 100 came to that first prayer summit.
Christianity Today (2000)
Surely the summit of no man 's ambition is to push a chair under a royal bottom?
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It is one thing to reach the summit; it is another to stay there.
Leo McKinstry Sir Alf: A Major Reappraisal of the Life and Times of England's Greatest FootballManager (2006)
This week two London summits will try to answer these questions.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There were two summits taking place in Europe at the end of last week.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
One summit meeting blurs inevitably into the next, while domestic affairs fade from view.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
I am on top of the mountain and the summit is very tiny and very spindly.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
I am sitting opposite the man at the summit of world tennis.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
EU leaders are expected to endorse a new crisis mechanism for the eurozone at a summit next week.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Perhaps the EU should bear that in mind the next time they plan a summit.
Ben Nimmo IN FORKBEARD'S WAKE: Coasting Round Scandinavia (2003)
After, we tucked into a delicious picnic at the mountain summit and looked out over Marrakech.
The Sun (2015)
She had reached the summit by 2.30pm, after being delayed for two hours by other climbers.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
I recall a marine commanding officer looking around in bewilderment after storming a strongly held Argentine mountain summit at negligible cost.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
At the summit of a high building was a young man and I saw that he had a flag wrapped around his shoulders.
Aidan Hartley THE ZANZIBAR CHEST: A Memoir of Love and War (2003)
Formula One's top four teams have called a summit meeting next week with the prospective takeover of the sport top of their agenda.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
In other languages
summit
British English: summit /ˈsʌmɪt/ NOUN
A summit is a meeting between the leaders of two or more countries to discuss important matters.