Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
peak
Sponsored Links Peak Global LifeTime
The Only Antifreeze with a LifeTime Guarantee!
www.peakantifreeze.com
CAN USB - PCI - PC/104
PC CAN Interface incl. SW-Monitor and Driver for Windows and Linux.
www.peak-system.com
11 dictionary results for: peak
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
peak1       [peek] Pronunciation Key
–noun
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.widow's peak.
11.a projecting front piece, or visor, of a cap.
12.Phonetics. nucleus (def. 8a).
13.Nautical.
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.
c.the outer extremity of a gaff.
–verb (used without object)
14.to project in a peak.
15.to attain a peak of activity, development, popularity, etc.: The artist peaked in the 1950s.
–verb (used with object)
16.Nautical. to raise the after end of (a yard, gaff, etc.) to or toward an angle above the horizontal.
–adjective
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.
[Origin: 1520–30; perh. < MLG pék pick, pike]

—Related forms
peakless, adjective
peaklike, adjective

—Synonyms 2, 4. pinnacle. 4. acme, zenith.
—Antonyms 4. abyss, nadir.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Sponsored Links Peak Global LifeTime
The Only Antifreeze with a LifeTime Guarantee!
www.peakantifreeze.com
CAN USB - PCI - PC/104
PC CAN Interface incl. SW-Monitor and Driver for Windows and Linux.
www.peak-system.com
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
peak2       [peek] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used without object)
to become weak, thin, and sickly.
[Origin: 1500–10; orig. uncert.]

—Related forms
peakish, adjective
peak·ish·ly, adverb
peak·ish·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
peak 1       (pēk)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A tapering, projecting point; a pointed extremity: the peak of a cap; the peak of a roof.
  2. Abbr. Pk.
    1. The pointed summit of a mountain.
    2. The mountain itself.
    3. The point of a beard.
    4. A widow's peak.
    5. The narrow portion of a ship's hull at the bow or stern.
    6. The upper after corner of a fore-and-aft sail.
    7. The outermost end of a gaff.
    1. The point of a beard.
    2. A widow's peak.
    3. The narrow portion of a ship's hull at the bow or stern.
    4. The upper after corner of a fore-and-aft sail.
    5. The outermost end of a gaff.
  4. The point of greatest development, value, or intensity: a novel written at the peak of the writer's career. See Synonyms at summit.
  5. Physics The highest value attained by a varying quantity: a peak in current.
  6. Nautical
    1. The narrow portion of a ship's hull at the bow or stern.
    2. The upper after corner of a fore-and-aft sail.
    3. The outermost end of a gaff.

v.   peaked, peak·ing, peaks

v.   tr.
  1. Nautical To raise (a gaff) above the horizontal.
  2. To bring to a maximum of development, value, or intensity.

v.   intr.
  1. To be formed into a peak or peaks: Beat the egg whites until they peak.
  2. To achieve a maximum of development, value, or intensity: Sales tend to peak just before the holidays.

adj.   Approaching or constituting the maximum: working at peak efficiency.


[Probably Middle English pike, peke; see pike5.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
peak 2       (pēk)  Pronunciation Key 
intr.v.   peaked, peak·ing, peaks
To become sickly, emaciated, or pale.


[Origin unknown.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
peak 
"pointed top," 1530, variant of pike (2) "sharp point." Meaning "top of a mountain" first recorded 1634, 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 verb is first recorded 1577, in sense of "to rise in a peak;" meaning "reach highest point" first recorded 1958. The Peak in Derbyshire is O.E. Peaclond, apparently a reference to elf-denizen Peac "Puck."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
peak

noun
1. the most extreme possible amount or value; "voltage peak" [syn: extremum] 
2. the period of greatest prosperity or productivity [syn: flower] 
3. the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development; "his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty"; "the artist's gifts are at their acme"; "at the height of her career"; "the peak of perfection"; "summer was at its peak"; "...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle of fame"; "the summit of his ambition"; "so many highest superlatives achieved by man"; "at the top of his profession" 
4. the top or extreme point of something (usually a mountain or hill); "the view from the peak was magnificent"; "they clambered to the tip of Monadnock"; "the region is a few molecules wide at the summit" 
5. a V shape; "the cannibal's teeth were filed to sharp points" [syn: point] 
6. the highest point (of something); "at the peak of the pyramid" [syn: vertex] 
7. a brim that projects to the front to shade the eyes; "he pulled down the bill of his cap and trudged ahead" [syn: bill] 

verb
1. to reach the highest point; attain maximum intensity, activity; "That wild, speculative spirit peaked in 1929";"Bids for the painting topped out at $50 million" [syn: top out] [ant: bottom out] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This

Peak

The highest point between the end of an economic expansion and the start of a contraction in a business cycle. The peak of the cycle refers to the last month before several key economic indicators, such as employment and new housing starts, begin to fall. It is at this point that real GDP spending in an economy is its highest level.

Investopedia Commentary

Business cycles are dated according to when the direction of economic activity changes and is measured by the time it takes for an economy to go from one peak to another. Also, because economic indicators change at different times, it is the National Bureau of Economic Research that ultimately determines the official dates of peaks and troughs in U.S. business cycles.

Related Links

Peak-and-Trough Analysis
Sector Rotation: The Essentials
The Stages Of Industry Growth
Recession: What Does It Mean To Investors?

See also: Business Cycle, Contraction, Expansion, National Bureau of Economic Research, Recession, Trough

Investopedia.com. Copyright © 1999-2005 - All rights reserved. Owned and Operated by Investopedia Inc.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Peak, SC (town, FIPS 55150) Location: 34.23811 N, 81.32906 W
Population (1990): 78 (37 housing units)
Area: 0.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

Jay Peak, VT Zip code(s): 05859

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

2. The top, or one of the tops, of a hill, mountain, or range, ending in a point; often, the whole hill or mountain, esp. when isolated; as, the Peak of Teneriffe.

Silent upon a peak in Darien. --Keats.

3. (Naut.) (a) The upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail; -- used in many combinations; as, peak-halyards, peak-brails, etc. (b) The narrow part of a vessel's bow, or the hold within it. (c) The extremity of an anchor fluke; the bill. [In the last sense written also pea and pee.]

Fore peak. (Naut.) See under Fore.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

There peaketh up a mighty high mount. --Holand.

2. To acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look thin or sicky. "Dwindle, peak, and pine." --Shak.

3. [Cf. Peek.] To pry; to peep slyly. --Shak.

Peak arch (Arch.), a pointed or Gothic arch.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Share This:Share This: digg.comShare This: ma.gnolia.comShare This: www.stumbleupon.comShare This: del.icio.usShare This: FacebookShare This: favorites.live.comShare This: www.technorati.comShare This: furl.netShare This: myweb2.search.yahoo.comShare This: www.google.com
Sponsored Links Peak Global LifeTime
The Only Antifreeze with a LifeTime Guarantee!
www.peakantifreeze.com
CAN USB - PCI - PC/104
PC CAN Interface incl. SW-Monitor and Driver for Windows and Linux.
www.peak-system.com