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.

   A less risky method is to lift your whisk or beater to check the condition of the peaks of the egg whites; the foam should be just stiff enough to stand up in well-defined, unwavering peaks.

   2002, Joy of Cooking: All About Cookies, →ISBN, page 29

2. The highest value reached by some quantity in a time period.

   The stock market reached a peak in September 1929.

   1 more example

   By last year, family income was 8 percent lower than it had been 11 years earlier, at its peak in 2000, according to inflation-adjusted numbers from the Census Bureau.

   2012 October 23, David Leonhardt, New York Times, retrieved 24 Oct 2012

   Synonyms: apex, pinnacle, acme, apex, zenith, apogee, apotheosis, ascendance

3. geographyThe top, or one of the tops, of a hill, mountain, or range, ending in a point.

   They reached the peak after 8 hours of climbing.

   Synonyms: summit, top

4. geographyThe whole hill or mountain, especially when isolated.

   To the South we observed a large plain some ten miles wide, with snowy peaks rising on the farther side. In front was a hill projecting into the plain, on which stood a mani wall; and this latter discovery made me feel quite confident that I was on the high road to Lhassa.

   1898, Arnold Henry Savage Landor, chapter 62, in In the Forbidden Land

5. UKbusinessvisor (horizontal part of a cap sticking out in front and shading the wearer's eyes)
6. nauticalThe upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail.

   peak-brails

   1 more example

   peak-halyards

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

    As she came to her peak, he was with her all the way, making her crash, moan, say his name again and again.

    2013 April 23, Crystal Green, Made in Texas!, Harlequin, →ISBN, page 214

11. InternetuncountableSomething of exceptional quality.

    There's so much peak on this website!

present singular third person peaks · participle present peaking · participle past peaked · past peaked

1. transitivenauticalTo raise the point of (a gaff) closer to perpendicular.
2. transitivenauticalTo raise an oar out of the water, fitting the handle into a round slot or socket located at the bottom of the boat.

   Davidson’s boat had steadied down and the bow oarsman, hurriedly peaking his oar by placing the end in a socket on the side of the boat opposite the thole-pins, had grabbed a harpoon and was bracing himself for the throw.

   1961, Tom Mead, Killers of Eden, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 7

3. transitivecomputingTo exceed the maximum signal amplitude of (a piece of equipment), resulting in clipping of the signal.
4. intransitiveTo reach a highest degree or maximum.

   Historians argue about when the Roman Empire began to peak and ultimately decay.

5. intransitiveTo rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear as, a peak.

   There peaketh up a mightie high mounte.

   1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “(please specify the book number)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], →OCLC

6. intransitiveTo reach the highest level of success or greatness in one's lifetime.
7. intransitiveTo reach the point of strongest effect from a drug.
8. abbreviationellipsisgender-critical slangEllipsis of peak trans.

   I came to this via sport but the thing that really peaked me was this.

   2019 August 4, Alison Weir (@WeirAlison), Twitter

   2 more examples

   My friend peaked me last year, at the GRA [Gender Recognition Act] consultation.

   2019 August 31, MrsMiggins (@MrsMiggins13), Twitter

   Solidarity from Spain, @jk_rowling. Thank you for peaking so many people all over the world.

   2021 November 22, DefendingMySisters (@DefendingMy), Twitter

comparative more peak · superlative most peak

1. At the greatest extent; maximum.

   peak oil, Peak TV

2. slangMaximal, quintessential, archetypical, strictly with positive connotations; representing the culmination of its type.

   Knowing obscure 19th-century slang is peak nerd.

   1 more example

   These icons are simply unmatched and timeless. They can’t even get away from them to this day, they just flattened them. Vista was peak design and we’ve regressed since then.

   2026 July 8, u/DAPOPOBEFASTONYOAZZ, r/WindowsVista (Reddit post), archived from the original on 11 Jul 2026

3. Multicultural London EnglishBad.

   Tempting, but I think it's actually something I need to do. Like, I get what they did was peak, but I have to take some responsibility, you know?

   2023, Nathan Bryon, Tom Melia, directed by Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane, spoken by Dom (David Jonsson)

   1 more example

   When they're tryna get the girl to the crib and she leaves, it's peak / Tryna keep it discreet and she tweets, it's peak / See me rolling with 20 man deep, it's peak / Yo rudeboy, pull up, repeat, it's peak

   2015, “Its Peak”, performed by Tinie Tempah (featuring Stormzy and Bugzy Malone)

   Synonyms: abysmal, atrocious, awful, bad, chronic, coarse, corny, crap

4. Multicultural London EnglishUnlucky; unfortunate.

   You didn't get a spot? That's peak.

   Synonyms: down on one's luck, fortuneless, ill-boding, ill-fated, ill-starred, inauspicious, infelicitous, infortunate

5. InternetVery good or high-quality.

   That movie last night was so peak.

   1 more example

   [Siri:] Joz said, team, these apricots are peak. Have they always been this good? Why has no one told me?

   2026 June 8, Apple, 37:56 from the start, in WWDC 2026 Keynote

present singular third person peaks · participle present peaking · participle past peaked · past peaked

1. intransitiveTo become sick or wan.
2. intransitiveTo acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look thin or sickly.

   Dwindle, peak, and pine.

   c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]

3. intransitiveTo pry; to peep slyly.

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

present singular third person peaks · participle present peaking · participle past peaked · past peaked

1. misspellingMisspelling of pique.

plural Peaks

1. A surname.