English · Word Candidate

climax

/ˈklaɪ.mæks/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: climaxes · climaces · climaxing · climaxed

Sense 1

Meaning · English

A rhetorical device in which a series is arranged in ascending order.

Noun

Examples

Ye haue a figure which as well by his Greeke and Latine originals […] may be called the marching figure […] and goeth as it were by ſtrides or paces; it may aſwell by called the clyming figure, for Clymax is as much to ſay as a ladder,[…]

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

The culmination of a narrative's rising action, the turning point.

Noun

Examples

As a trafficker in climaxes and thrills and characterization and wonderful dialogue and suspense and confrontations, I had outlined the Dresden story many times.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 3

Meaning · English

To reach or bring to a climax (in any sense).

Verb

Examples

All our memories are burning in time / Like a bittersweet perfume / Can you tell me how a love that's so fine / Could have climaxed in a single afternoon?

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 4

Meaning · English

To form the climax to; to be the climax of.

Verb

Examples

A group of about 50 people, mostly young adults and teenagers, charged into a city park where gay people were having a swimming party on June 8. Gay people were attacked, climaxing a year in which this conservative Ohio city [Cincinnati] has become aware of its gay population.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “climax” mean?

A rhetorical device in which a series is arranged in ascending order.

Is “climax” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.