It's the Word of the Day podcast for February 23rd.
Today's word is culminate spelled C-U-L-M-I-N-A-T-E.
Culminate is a verb.
To culminate is to reach the end or the final result of something.
Culminate is usually used with in or with.
Here's the word used in a sentence from the Hartford Current.
The grand emotions of these cartoons come to life culminate in huge song and dance numbers,
the songs sung by the voices you know and love from the movies,
and the dances enhanced by the grace of top-flight figure skating.
When a star or other heavenly body culminates,
it reaches its highest point above the horizon from the vantage point of an observer on the ground.
The English verb culminate was drawn via medieval Latin from the late Latin verb culminare,
meaning to crown, specifically for this astronomical application.
Its ultimate root is the Latin noun culmen, meaning top.
Today, the word's typical context is less lofty.
It can mean to reach a climactic point, as in a long career culminating in a prestigious award.
but it can also simply mean to reach the end of something, as in a sentence culminating in a period.
With your Word of the Day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.