[syn: top out, peak]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Peag \Peag\ (p[=e]g), n. [Written also peage, peak,
peeke.] [Prob. of North American Indian origin, by
shortening of wampumpeag. --RHUD.]
A kind of aboriginal shell money, or wampum, of the Atlantic
coast of the United States; -- originally applied only to
polished white cylindrical beads. See also wampum.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Peak \Peak\ (p[=e]k), n. [OE. pek, AS. peac, perh of Celtic
origin; cf. Ir. peac a sharp-pointed thing. Cf. Pike.]
1. A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates
in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap. "Run your
beard into a peak." --Beau. & Fl.
[1913 Webster]
2. The top, or one of the tops, of a hill, mountain, or
range, ending in a point; often, the whole hill or
mountain, esp. when isolated; as, the Peak of Teneriffe.
[1913 Webster]
Silent upon a peak in Darien. --Keats.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Naut.)
(a) The upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail; --
used in many combinations; as, peak-halyards,
peak-brails, etc.
(b) The narrow part of a vessel's bow, or the hold within
it.
(c) The extremity of an anchor fluke; the bill. [In the
last sense written also pea and pee.]
[1913 Webster]
Fore peak. (Naut.) See under Fore.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Peak \Peak\, v. t. (Naut.)
To raise to a position perpendicular, or more nearly so; as,
to peak oars, to hold them upright; to peak a gaff or yard,
to set it nearer the perpendicular.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Peak \Peak\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Peaked (p[=e]kt); p. pr. &
vb. n. Peaking.]
1. To rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear
as, a peak.
[1913 Webster]
There peaketh up a mighty high mount. --Holand.
[1913 Webster]
2. Hence: To achieve a maximum of numerical value, intensity
of activity, popularity, or other characteristic, followed
by a decline; as, the stock market peaked in January; his
performance as a pitcher peaked in 1990; sales of the XTX
model peaked at 20,000 per year.
[PJC]
3. To acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look
thin or sickly. "Dwindle, peak, and pine." --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
4. [Cf. Peek.] To pry; to peep slyly. [archaic] --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Peak arch (Arch.), a pointed or Gothic arch.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
peak
n 1: the most extreme possible amount or value; "voltage peak"
[syn: extremum, peak]
2: the period of greatest prosperity or productivity [syn:
flower, prime, peak, heyday, bloom, blossom,
efflorescence, flush]
3: the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of
development; "his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty";
"the artist's gifts are at their acme"; "at the height of her
career"; "the peak of perfection"; "summer was at its peak";
"...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle of fame"; "the summit
of his ambition"; "so many highest superlatives achieved by
man"; "at the top of his profession" [syn: acme, height,
elevation, peak, pinnacle, summit, superlative,
meridian, tiptop, top]
4: the top or extreme point of something (usually a mountain or
hill); "the view from the peak was magnificent"; "they
clambered to the tip of Monadnock"; "the region is a few
molecules wide at the summit" [syn: peak, crown, crest,
top, tip, summit]
5: a V shape; "the cannibal's teeth were filed to sharp points"
[syn: point, tip, peak]
6: the highest point (of something); "at the peak of the
pyramid" [syn: vertex, peak, apex, acme]
7: a brim that projects to the front to shade the eyes; "he
pulled down the bill of his cap and trudged ahead" [syn:
bill, peak, eyeshade, visor, vizor]
v 1: to reach the highest point; attain maximum intensity,
activity; "That wild, speculative spirit peaked in
1929";"Bids for the painting topped out at $50 million"
[syn: top out, peak] [ant: bottom out]