[cli.max] n [L, fr. Gk klimax ladder, fr. klinein to lean] (ca. 1550) 1: a figure of speech in which a series of phrases or sentences is arranged in ascending order of rhetorical forcefulness
2. a: the highest point: culmination b: the point of highest dramatic tension or a major turning point in the action (as of a play) c: orgasm d: menopause
3: a relatively stable ecological stage or community esp. of plants that is achieved through successful adjustment to an environment; esp: the final stage in ecological succession syn see summit -- cli.max.less adj
[2]climax vt (1835): to bring to a climax "~ed his boxing career with a knockout" ~ vi: to come to a climax "a riot ~ing in the destruction of several houses"