/ ˈklaɪmæks; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
the most exciting or important event or point in time :
to come to / reach a climax
the climax of his political career
2.
the most exciting part of a play, piece of music, etc. that usually happens near the end
3.
the highest point of sexual pleasure
SYN orgasm
—compare anticlimax
■ verb
1.
climax with / in sth to come to or form the best, most exciting, or most important point in sth :
[ v ]
The festival will climax on Sunday with a gala concert.
[ vn ] ( especially NAmE )
The sensational verdict climaxed a six-month trial.
2.
[ v ] to have an orgasm
••
WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (in rhetoric): from late Latin , from Greek klimax ladder, climax. The sense culmination arose in the late 18th cent.