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Webster 1913 Edition

Peak

Peak

(pēk)
,
Noun.
[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.
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
.
Silent upon a
peak
in Darien.
Keats.
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
.]
Fore peak
.
(Naut.)
See under
Fore
.

Peak

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Peaked
(pēkt)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Peaking
.]
1.
To rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear as, a peak.
There
peaketh
up a mighty high mount.
Holand.
3.
To acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look thin or sickly.
“Dwindle, peak, and pine.”
Shak.
4.
[Cf.
Peek
.]
To pry; to peep slyly.
[archaic]
Shak.
Peak arch
(Arch.)
,
a pointed or Gothic arch.

Peak

,
Verb.
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.

Webster 1828 Edition

Peak

PEAK

,
Noun.
[Eng. pike, beak.]
1.
The top of a hill or mountain, ending in a point; as the peak of Teneriffe.
2.
A point; the end of any thing that terminates in a point.
3.
The upper corner of a sail which is extended by a gaff or yard; also, the extremity of the yard or gaff.

PEAK

,
Verb.
I.
To look sickly or thin. [Not used.]
1.
To make a mean figure; to sneak. [Not used.]

PEAK

,
Verb.
T.
To raise a gaff or yard more obliquely to the mast.

Definition 2024

peak

peak

English

Noun

peak ‎(plural peaks)

  1. A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap.
    • 2002, Joy of Cooking: All About Cookies (ISBN 0743216806), page 29:
      A less risky method is to lift your whisk or beater to check the condition of the peaks of the egg whites; the foam should be just stiff enough to stand up in well-defined, unwavering peaks.
  2. The highest value reached by some quantity in a time period.
    The stock market reached a peak in September 1929.
    • 2012 October 23, David Leonhardt, "," New York Times (retrieved 24 October 2012):
      By last year, family income was 8 percent lower than it had been 11 years earlier, at its peak in 2000, according to inflation-adjusted numbers from the Census Bureau.
  3. (geography) The top, or one of the tops, of a hill, mountain, or range, ending in a point; often, the whole hill or mountain, especially when isolated; as, the Peak of Teneriffe.
  4. (nautical) The upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail; -- used in many combinations; as, peak-halyards, peak-brails, etc.
  5. (nautical) The narrow part of a vessel's bow, or the hold within it.
  6. (nautical) The extremity of an anchor fluke; the bill.
  7. (mathematics) A local maximum of a function, e.g. for sine waves, each point at which the value of y is at its maximum.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

peak ‎(third-person singular simple present peaks, present participle peaking, simple past and past participle peaked)

  1. To reach a highest degree or maximum.
    Historians argue about when the Roman Empire began to peak and ultimately decay.
  2. To rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear as, a peak.
    • Holland
      There peaketh up a mighty high mount.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Unknown

Verb

peak ‎(third-person singular simple present peaks, present participle peaking, simple past and past participle peaked)

  1. (intransitive) To become sick or wan.
  2. (intransitive) To acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look thin or sickly.
    • Shakespeare
      Dwindle, peak, and pine.
  3. (intransitive) To pry; to peep slyly.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

Etymology 3

Verb

peak ‎(third-person singular simple present peaks, present participle peaking, simple past and past participle peaked)

  1. Misspelling of pique.

Etymology

From earlier peake, peek, peke, from Middle English *peke, *pek (attested in peked, variant of piked), itself an alteration of pike, pyke, pyk ‎(“a shart point, pike”), from Old English pīc, piic ‎(“a pike, needle, pin, peak, pinnacle”), from Proto-Germanic *pīkaz ‎(“peak”). Cognate with Dutch piek ‎(“pike, point, summit, peak”), Danish pik ‎(“pike, peak”), Swedish pik ‎(“pike, lance, point, peak”), Norwegian pik ‎(“peak, summit”). More at pike.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: pēk, IPA(key): /piːk/
  • Rhymes: -iːk
  • Homophones: peek, peke, pique

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