peak

English Online Dictionary. What means peak‎? What does peak mean?

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: pēk, IPA^(key): /piːk/
• Rhymes: -iːk
• Homophones: peek, peke, pique

Etymology 1

From earlier peake, peek, peke, from Middle English pek (in place names), itself an alteration of pike, pyke, pyk (“a sharp point, pike”), from Old English pīc, piic (“a pike, needle, pin, peak, pinnacle”), from Proto-Germanic *pīkaz (“peak”). Cognate with Dutch piek (“pike, point, summit, peak”), Danish pik (“pike, peak”), Swedish pik (“pike, lance, point, peak”), Norwegian pik (“peak, summit”). More at pike.

Noun

peak (plural peaks)

1. A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap.
2. The highest value reached by some quantity in a time period.

   Synonyms: apex, pinnacle; see also Thesaurus:apex
3. (geography) The top, or one of the tops, of a hill, mountain, or range, ending in a point.

   Synonyms: summit, top

4. (geography) The whole hill or mountain, especially when isolated.
5. (clothing, UK) visor (horizontal part of a cap sticking out in front and shading the wearer's eyes)
6. (nautical) The upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail.

7. (nautical) The narrow part of a vessel's bow, or the hold within it.
8. (nautical) The extremity of an anchor fluke; the bill.
9. (mathematics) A local maximum of a function, e.g. for sine waves, each point at which the value of y is at its maximum.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Russian: пик (pik) (in час пик (čas pik))

Translations

Verb

peak (third-person singular simple present peaks, present participle peaking, simple past and past participle peaked)

1. (transitive, nautical) To raise the point of (a gaff) closer to perpendicular.
2. (transitive, signal processing) To exceed the maximum signal amplitude of (a piece of equipment), resulting in clipping of the signal.
3. (intransitive)
   1. To reach a highest degree or maximum.

   2. To rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear as, a peak.
5. (gender-critical) To cause to adopt gender-critical or trans-exclusionary views (ellipsis of peak trans).
   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:peak.

Synonyms

• culminate

Translations

Adjective

peak (comparative more peak, superlative most peak)

1. At the greatest extent; maximum.

2. (slang) Maximal, quintessential, archetypical; representing the culmination of its type.

3. (MLE) Bad.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bad
4. (MLE) Unlucky; unfortunate.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:unlucky

5. (Internet slang) Very good or high-quality.

Etymology 2

Unknown.

Verb

peak (third-person singular simple present peaks, present participle peaking, simple past and past participle peaked)

1. (intransitive) To become sick or wan.
2. (intransitive) To acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look thin or sickly.
3. (intransitive) To pry; to peep slyly.

Derived terms

• peaked

Related terms

• peaky

Etymology 3

Noun

peak (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of peag (“wampum”).

Etymology 4

Verb

peak (third-person singular simple present peaks, present participle peaking, simple past and past participle peaked)

1. Misspelling of pique. Mostly used in set phrases such as pique (one's) interest.

Anagrams

• kaep, Paek, pake, kape

Basque

Noun

peak

1. absolutive plural of pe
2. ergative singular of pe