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Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development;
- Example: "his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty"
- Example: "the artist's gifts are at their acme"
- Example: "at the height of her career"
- Example: "the peak of perfection"
- Example: "summer was at its peak"
- Example: "...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle of fame"
- Example: "the summit of his ambition"
- Example: "so many highest superlatives achieved by man"
- Example: "at the top of his profession"
[syn: acme, height, elevation, peak, pinnacle, summit, superlative, meridian, tiptop, top]

2. the highest point (of something);
- Example: "at the peak of the pyramid"
[syn: vertex, peak, apex, acme]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

acme \ac"me\ ([a^]k"m[-e]), n. [Gr. 'akmh` point, top.] 1. The top or highest point; the culmination. [1913 Webster] The very acme and pitch of life for epic poetry. --Pope. [1913 Webster] The moment when a certain power reaches the acme of its supremacy. --I. Taylor. [1913 Webster] 2. (Med.) The crisis or height of a disease. AS [1913 Webster] 3. Mature age; full bloom of life. --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

acme n 1: 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] 2: the highest point (of something); "at the peak of the pyramid" [syn: vertex, peak, apex, acme]
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):

ACME /ak'mee/ 1. A Company that Makes Everything. The canonical imaginary business. Possibly also derived from the word "acme" meaning "highest point". 2. A program for MS-DOS. [What does it do?] (1994-11-08)
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

Acme n. [from Greek akme highest point of perfection or achievement] The canonical supplier of bizarre, elaborate, and non-functional gadgetry — where Rube Goldberg and Heath Robinson (two cartoonists who specialized in elaborate contraptions) shop. The name has been humorously expanded as A (or American) Company Making Everything. (In fact, Acme was a real brand sold from Sears Roebuck catalogs in the early 1900s.) Describing some X as an “ Acme X” either means “This is insanely great”, or, more likely, “This looks insanely great on paper, but in practice it's really easy to shoot yourself in the foot with it.” Compare pistol. This term, specially cherished by American hackers and explained here for the benefit of our overseas brethren, comes from the Warner Brothers' series of “Road-runner” cartoons. In these cartoons, the famished Wile E. Coyote was forever attempting to catch up with, trap, and eat the Road-runner. His attempts usually involved one or more high-technology Rube Goldberg devices — rocket jetpacks, catapults, magnetic traps, high-powered slingshots, etc. These were usually delivered in large wooden crates labeled prominently with the Acme name — which, probably not by coincidence, was the trade name of a peg bar system for superimposing animation cels used by cartoonists since forever. Acme devices invariably malfunctioned in improbable and violent ways.