/kluy"maks/ , n.
1. the highest or most intense point in the development or resolution of something; culmination: His career reached its climax when he was elected president.
2. (in a dramatic or literary work) a decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a plot.
3. Rhet.
a. a figure consisting of a series of related ideas so arranged that each surpasses the preceding in force or intensity.
b. the last term or member of this figure.
4. an orgasm.
5. Ecol. the stable and self-perpetuating end stage in the ecological succession or evolution of a plant and animal community.
v.t. , v.i.
6. to bring to or reach a climax.
[ 1580-90; klîmax ladder, akin to klínein to lean ]
Syn. 1. summit, zenith, acme, apex.