peak definition | Dictionary.com

peak

1 [peek]

–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.

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 pēk pick, pike

Related forms:

peakless, adjective

peaklike, adjective

Synonyms:
2, 4. pinnacle. 4. acme, zenith.

Antonyms:
4. abyss, nadir.

peak

2 [peek]

–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To peak

peak¹ (pēk)

A tapering, projecting point; a pointed extremity: the peak of a cap; the peak of a roof.
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.
The point of greatest development, value, or intensity: a novel written at the peak of the writer's career. See Synonyms at summit.
Physics The highest value attained by a varying quantity: a peak in current.
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.

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

v. intr.

To be formed into a peak or peaks: Beat the egg whites until they peak.
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.]

peak² (pēk)

intr.v. peaked, peak·ing, peaks
To become sickly, emaciated, or pale.

[Origin unknown.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

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.

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.

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.

Language Translation for : peak

Spanish: pico, cumbre,

German: die Berspitze,

Japanese: 山頂

More Translations »

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."

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.

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