peak
/piːk/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.53 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap.
noun
The highest value reached by some quantity in a time period.
noun
The whole hill or mountain, especially when isolated.
noun
visor (horizontal part of a cap sticking out in front and shading the wearer's eyes)
British usage
noun
The upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail.
Example Sentences
- "A less risky method is to lift your whisk or beater to check the condition of the peaks of the egg whites; the foam should be just stiff enough to stand up in well-defined, unwavering peaks."
- "The stock market reached a peak in September 1929."
- "By last year, family income was 8 percent lower than it had been 11 years earlier, at its peak in 2000, according to inflation-adjusted numbers from the Census Bureau."
- "They reached the peak after 8 hours of climbing."
- "To the South we observed a large plain some ten miles wide, with snowy peaks rising on the farther side. In front was a hill projecting into the plain, on which stood a mani wall; and this latter discovery made me feel quite confident that I was on the high road to Lhassa."
- "peak-halyards"
Etymology
From earlier peake, peek, peke, from Middle English pek (in place names), itself an alteration of pike, pyke, pyk (“a sharp point, pike”), from Old English pīc, piic (“a pike, needle, pin, peak, pinnacle”), from Proto-West Germanic *pīk, from Proto-Germanic *pīkaz (“peak”). Cognate with Dutch piek (“pike, point, summit, peak”), Danish pik (“pike, peak”), Swedish pik (“pike, lance, point, peak”), Norwegian pik (“peak, summit”). More at pike.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: pek, pīc, *pīk, *pīkaz, -
Usage
Inflected Forms
peaks (plural)
peaks (present, singular)
peaking (participle, present)
peaked (participle, past)
peaked (past)
more peak (comparative)
most peak (superlative)