Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

apex

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Remove ads
See also: Apex, APEX, ápex, and àpex

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin apex (“point, tip, summit”).

Pronunciation

Noun

apex (plural apices or apexes)

  1. The highest or the greatest part of something, especially forming a point.
    Synonyms: peak, top, summit, vertex
    the apex of the building
    1. (geometry) The highest point in a plane or solid figure, relative to a base line or plane.
    2. (chiefly anatomy) The pointed fine end of something.
      Synonyms: end, tip
      1. The lowest part of the human heart.
        • 1951 March, J. H. Lehmann, A. D. Johnson, W. C. Bridges, J. Michel, D. M. Green, “Cardiac Catheterization—A Diagnostic Aid in Congenital Heart Disease”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 3, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 175:
          B.P. 118/68. Grade I diastolic murmur best heard over apex. Patient well and had no complaints referable to heart. Origin of the diastolic murmur is open to conjecture.
      3. The deepest part of a tooth's root.
    3. (botany) The end of a leaf, petal or similar organ opposed to the end where it is attached to its support.
      Synonym: tip
    4. (botany) The growing point of a shoot.
    5. (astronomy) The point on the celestial sphere toward which the Sun appears to move relative to nearby stars.
      Hyponym: solar apex
    6. (physics) The lowest point on a pendant drop of a liquid.
    7. (mining, US) The end or edge of a vein nearest the surface.
    8. (typography):
      1. A diacritic in Classical Latin that resembles and gave rise to the acute.
      2. A diacritic in Middle Vietnamese that indicates /ŋ͡m/.
      3. A sharp upward point formed by two strokes that meet at an acute angle, as in "W", uppercase "A", and closed-top "4", or by a tapered stroke, as in lowercase "t".
        Coordinate term: vertex
    9. (motor racing) The part of a corner where the racing line is nearest the inside of the bend.
  2. An obstacle for a horse to jump over, consisting of a triangular corner fence.
  3. (figuratively) The moment of greatest success, expansion, etc.
    Synonyms: acme, culmination, height, peak, pinnacle
    the apex of civilization
    • 2002, Jeffrey Rowland, “Day 2 (The Slagathors)”, in Wigu Adventures‎, page 58:
      It would be an intense disgust. The absolute apex of teen angst.
    • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Virmire:
      The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished.
  4. (attributive, ecology) The top of the food chain.
  5. A conical priest cap.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

Remove ads

Latin

Romanian

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads
Remove ads