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PINNACLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(architecture) a slender upright spire at the top of a buttress of tower
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("pinnacle" is a kind of...):
spire; steeple (a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building (usually a church or temple) and that tapers to a point at the top)
Domain category:
architecture (the discipline dealing with the principles of design and construction and ornamentation of fine buildings)
Derivation:
pinnacle (raise on or as if on a pinnacle)
pinnacle (surmount with a pinnacle)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A lofty peak
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("pinnacle" is a kind of...):
crest; crown; peak; summit; tip; top (the top or extreme point of something (usually a mountain or hill))
Sense 3
Meaning:
The highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
Example:
at the top of his profession
Synonyms:
acme; elevation; height; meridian; peak; pinnacle; summit; superlative; tiptop; top
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("pinnacle" is a kind of...):
degree; level; point; stage (a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Raise on or as if on a pinnacle
Example:
He did not want to be pinnacled
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "pinnacle" is one way to...):
bring up; elevate; get up; lift; raise (raise from a lower to a higher position)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
pinnacle ((architecture) a slender upright spire at the top of a buttress of tower)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Surmount with a pinnacle
Example:
pinnacle a pediment
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "pinnacle" is one way to...):
surmount (be on top of)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Derivation:
pinnacle ((architecture) a slender upright spire at the top of a buttress of tower)
Context examples:
He whipped up the mares, and now from the curve of the road we could see the high dark pinnacles of the old Manor-house shooting up above the ancient oaks which ring it round.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Though I could almost have consigned her to the mercies of the wind on the topmost pinnacle of the Cathedral, without remorse, I made a virtue of necessity, and gave her a friendly salutation.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Everything else was unchanged, the sun still shining mercilessly on the steaming marsh and the tall pinnacle of the mountain, and I could scarce persuade myself that murder had been actually done and a human life cruelly cut short a moment since before my eyes.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Zambo occupied our little tent at the base of the pinnacle, and there he remained, our one link with the world below.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Have faith that all you’ve done will now reach a pinnacle this year, and news may come sooner than you think.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
In an instant Holmes had raced up on to the ridge, and, standing upon a lofty pinnacle, craned his neck in every direction.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
There, beneath them, was the blood-bathed hill, and from the highest pinnacle there flaunted the yellow and white banner with the lions and the towers of the royal house of Castile.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Presently his honest black face topped the rocks and his Herculean figure emerged upon the top of the pinnacle.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
You find this house at the very pinnacle point of your chart, where you would see the number 12 on the face of a clock.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
Here and there, through the dense haze which surrounded them, there loomed out huge pinnacles and jutting boulders of rock: while high above the sea of vapor there towered up one gigantic peak, with the pink glow of the early sunshine upon its snow-capped head.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
