English Reference
Noun

culmination

n. countable
C1 Advanced US /ˌkəɫməˈneɪʃən/ UK /kˌʌlmɪnˈeɪʃən/ cul·mi·na·tion UK spelling culminations Astronomy Education

n.the final result of a long process or a lot of hard work. It is the highest point or the end of a series of events.

n.the highest point of attainment or the final stage of a process, typically reached after a long period of time. Often implies the successful completion of a series of actions.


SIMPLE

The concert was the culmination of months of practice.

CONTEXTUAL

The new law represents the culmination of years of campaigning by environmental activists.

COMPLEX

The gallery's retrospective exhibition serves as the culmination of the artist's forty-year career, bringing together works from every major period of her creative development.

Usage

Often used with the preposition 'of' to indicate the process that led to the result.

The trial, expected to last four weeks, may not resolve the question of who killed Shakur, but members of his family have described it as the culmination of years of grief and trauma.

The Guardian· 15 Aug 2026

The judge said the baby's death was not the culmination of repeated instances of neglect or abuse over a period of weeks or months.

BBC News· 14 Aug 2026

Borrowed from French culmination, from culminer, or from Medieval Latin culminatus + -tion. Morphologically culminate + -ion.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin la-med culminatus
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated