summit
1 of 2noun
sum·mit ˈsə-mət 
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 2verb
summited; summiting; summits
intransitive verb
1
: to participate in a summit conference
2
: to climb to the summit
summited on May 29
Synonyms
Noun
- acme
- apex
- apogee
- capstone
- climax
- crescendo
- crest
- crown
- culmination
- head
- height
- high noon
- high-water mark
- meridian
- ne plus ultra
- noon
- noontime
- peak
- pinnacle
- sum
- tip-top
- top
- zenith
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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
Keith Zhai, WSJ, 15 Sep. 2022 The trip includes a visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where Xi will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time since the war on Ukraine, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. Devika Rao, The Week, 14 Sep. 2022 The summit, in which the pair touted their ever-growing ties and railed against NATO expansion, was held three weeks before Putin ordered his tanks into Ukraine. Luke Mcgee, CNN, 14 Sep. 2022 Uzbekistan is hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which will give Xi a chance to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in person for the first time since Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine in February. Time, 12 Sep. 2022 Thus far in 2022, some 200 people reached the 28,251-foot summit, including a record-setting 145 people on a single day. Anna Callaghan, Outside Online, 29 Aug. 2022 According to People, before going to Boston, the Duke of Cambridge will be in New York City on September 21 for the Earthshot Prize Innovation summit, which will be attended by last year’s Earthshot winners and this year’s finalists. Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 19 Aug. 2022 The Earthshot Prize and Bloomberg Philanthropies will co-host the summit, where inaugural finalists and winners of last year's Earthshot Prize will gather. Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 19 Aug. 2022 Her latest idea was a pop-up women’s summit called The Be Fearless Summit that traveled to universities, pairing burgeoning students with seasoned local mentors. Laurel Donnellan, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 Adela Suliman, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Aug. 2022 Thousands of tourists attempt to climb Kilimanjaro annually, taking about a week to summit the majestic mountain. Adela Suliman, Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2022 Our values are: be recreated, be bold and chart the unknown, lead with integrity, transform courageously, and summit together. Kristin Hostetter, Outside Online, 15 Sep. 2021 Last week, our colleague Jack Dolan produced one of the latter — a cautionary tale about novice climbers attempting to summit Mt. Shasta, resulting in one of the mountain’s most gut-wrenching days in recent memory. Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2022 Next Big Project: Two upcoming books: a look at Black history through the lens of the National Park Service and a chronicle of the Full Circle Expedition, the first all-Black American team to summit Everest. Outside Online, 13 June 2022 My colleague Jack Dolan wrote a gripping story about a recent attempt to summit that turned deadly — and the controversial climbing practice that critics say gives a false sense of security to amateur climbers. Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2022 Around 50,000 people visit Kilimanjaro National Park in northeast Tanzania near the Kenyan border each year, and roughly 35,000 attempt to summit the park’s namesake mountain. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Aug. 2022 His statement said gendarmes in a helicopter used a megaphone to make a group of Romanian hikers turn back from an attempt to summit Mont Blanc using a megaphone on July 30. CNN, 4 Aug. 2022 See More
Noun
The summit in Samarkand, which concludes on Friday, will include Iran as the ninth member of the regional security bloc founded by China, Russia and Central Asian countries in 2001. Keith Zhai, WSJ, 15 Sep. 2022 The trip includes a visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where Xi will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time since the war on Ukraine, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. Devika Rao, The Week, 14 Sep. 2022 The summit, in which the pair touted their ever-growing ties and railed against NATO expansion, was held three weeks before Putin ordered his tanks into Ukraine. Luke Mcgee, CNN, 14 Sep. 2022 Uzbekistan is hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which will give Xi a chance to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in person for the first time since Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine in February. Time, 12 Sep. 2022 Thus far in 2022, some 200 people reached the 28,251-foot summit, including a record-setting 145 people on a single day. Anna Callaghan, Outside Online, 29 Aug. 2022 According to People, before going to Boston, the Duke of Cambridge will be in New York City on September 21 for the Earthshot Prize Innovation summit, which will be attended by last year’s Earthshot winners and this year’s finalists. Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 19 Aug. 2022 The Earthshot Prize and Bloomberg Philanthropies will co-host the summit, where inaugural finalists and winners of last year's Earthshot Prize will gather. Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 19 Aug. 2022 Her latest idea was a pop-up women’s summit called The Be Fearless Summit that traveled to universities, pairing burgeoning students with seasoned local mentors. Laurel Donnellan, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 Verb
Thousands of tourists attempt to climb Kilimanjaro annually, taking about a week to summit the majestic mountain. Adela Suliman, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Aug. 2022 Thousands of tourists attempt to climb Kilimanjaro annually, taking about a week to summit the majestic mountain. Adela Suliman, Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2022 Our values are: be recreated, be bold and chart the unknown, lead with integrity, transform courageously, and summit together. Kristin Hostetter, Outside Online, 15 Sep. 2021 Last week, our colleague Jack Dolan produced one of the latter — a cautionary tale about novice climbers attempting to summit Mt. Shasta, resulting in one of the mountain’s most gut-wrenching days in recent memory. Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2022 Next Big Project: Two upcoming books: a look at Black history through the lens of the National Park Service and a chronicle of the Full Circle Expedition, the first all-Black American team to summit Everest. Outside Online, 13 June 2022 My colleague Jack Dolan wrote a gripping story about a recent attempt to summit that turned deadly — and the controversial climbing practice that critics say gives a false sense of security to amateur climbers. Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2022 Around 50,000 people visit Kilimanjaro National Park in northeast Tanzania near the Kenyan border each year, and roughly 35,000 attempt to summit the park’s namesake mountain. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Aug. 2022 His statement said gendarmes in a helicopter used a megaphone to make a group of Romanian hikers turn back from an attempt to summit Mont Blanc using a megaphone on July 30. CNN, 4 Aug. 2022 See More 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
Phrases Containing summit
Kids Definition
summit
noun
sum·mit ˈsə-mət
: the highest point (as of a mountain) : top
summit 1 of 2
noun
as in pinnacle
the highest part or point a new movie that some enthusiastic reviewers are already calling the summit of cinematic achievement Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- pinnacle
- peak
- top
- zenith
- height
- culmination
- apex
- climax
- crest
- capstone
- crescendo
- crown
- noon
- acme
- apogee
- noontime
- meridian
- highlight
- sum
- head
- high noon
- high-water mark
- tip-top
- roof
- ne plus ultra
- glory
- flower
- cap
- high
- prime
- bloom
- extremity
- blossom
- tip
- heyday
- ceiling
- flood tide
- extreme
- vertex
- highspot
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- base
- bottom
- foot
- nadir
- abyss
- minimum
- rock bottom
summit
2 of 2verb
as in to ascend
Synonyms & Similar Words
- ascend
- scale
- surmount
- free-climb
- breast
- mount
- shin
- shinny
- struggle
- get up
- clamber
- climb
- scramble
- shimmy
- claw
- skin
- sprawl
- swarm
- scrabble
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of summit are acme, apex, climax, culmination, peak, and pinnacle. While all these words mean "the highest point attained or attainable," summit implies the topmost level attainable.
at the summit of the Victorian social scene
The words acme and summit are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, acme implies a level of quality representing the perfection of a thing.
a statue that was once deemed the acme of beauty
In some situations, the words apex and summit are roughly equivalent. However, apex implies the point where all ascending lines converge.
the apex of Dutch culture
While in some cases nearly identical to summit, climax implies the highest point in an ascending series.
the war was the climax to a series of hostile actions
Although the words culmination and summit have much in common, culmination suggests the outcome of a growth or development representing an attained objective.
the culmination of years of effort
While the synonyms peak and summit are close in meaning, peak suggests the highest among other high points.
an artist working at the peak of her powers
The synonyms pinnacle and summit are sometimes interchangeable, but pinnacle suggests a dizzying and often insecure height.
the pinnacle of worldly success
- nonguests
- nonguilts
- nonhaem
- nonhaemolytic
- nonhairier
- nonhairiest
- nonhalation
- nonhalogenated
- nonhandicapped
- nonhappening
- nonhappenings
- nonhardening
- nonhardy
- nonharmonic
- nonhazardous
- nonheme
- nonhemolytic
- nonhereditary
- nonhero
- nonheroes
- nonheterosexual
- nonheterosexually
- nonhibernating
- nonhierarchical
- nonhierarchically