/pin"euh keuhl/ , n. , v. , pinnacled, pinnacling .
n.
1. a lofty peak.
2. the highest or culminating point, as of success, power, fame, etc.: the pinnacle of one's career.
3. any pointed, towering part or formation, as of rock.
4. Archit. a relatively small, upright structure, commonly terminating in a gable, a pyramid, or a cone, rising above the roof or coping of a building, or capping a tower, buttress, or other projecting architectural member. See illus. under imbrication .
v.t.
5. to place on or as on a pinnacle.
6. to form a pinnacle on; crown.
[ 1300-50; ME pinacle pinnaculum gable, equiv. to L pinn ( a ) raised part of a parapet, lit., wing, feather (see PINNA) + -aculum; see TABERNACLE ]
Syn. 2. apex, acme, summit, zenith. 3. needle.
Ant. 2. base.