pinnacle

[ pin-uh-kuhl ]
/ ˈpɪn ə kəl /

noun

a lofty peak.
the highest or culminating point, as of success, power, fame, etc.: the pinnacle of one's career.
any pointed, towering part or formation, as of rock.
Architecture. a relatively small, upright structure, commonly terminating in a gable, a pyramid, or a cone, rising above the roof or coping of a building, or capping a tower, buttress, or other projecting architectural member.

verb (used with object), pin·na·cled, pin·na·cling.

to place on or as on a pinnacle.
to form a pinnacle on; crown.

Origin of pinnacle

1300–50; Middle English pinacle < Middle French < Late Latin pinnāculum gable, equivalent to Latin pinn(a) raised part of a parapet, literally, wing, feather (see pinna) + -āculum; see tabernacle

Example sentences from the Web for pinnacle

British Dictionary definitions for pinnacle

pinnacle
/ (ˈpɪnəkəl) /

noun

the highest point or level, esp of fame, success, etc
a towering peak, as of a mountain
a slender upright structure in the form of a cone, pyramid, or spire on the top of a buttress, gable, or tower

verb (tr)

to set on or as if on a pinnacle
to furnish with a pinnacle or pinnacles
to crown with a pinnacle

Word Origin for pinnacle

C14: via Old French from Late Latin pinnāculum a peak, from Latin pinna wing