culminate

The verb culminate is used to describe a high point or a climactic stage in a process. For example, the goal of a Major League baseball team is to have their season culminate in a World Series victory.

The word culminate derives from the Latin word culminatus, the past participle of culminare, which means "to top, to crown." Don’t be afraid of the Latin: it’s on your side. Knowing the Latin origin can help you remember the meaning of culminate. Use culminate when you are referring to a crowning moment or a final conclusion: “I want my experiments combining strawberry jam with burnt toast to culminate in a Nobel Prize in Chemistry.”