Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
pin·na·cle \\ˈpi-ni-kəl\\ noun ETYMOLOGY Middle English pinacle, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin pinnaculum small wing, gable, from Latin pinna wing, battlement
DATE 14th century
1. an upright architectural member generally ending in a small spire and used especially in Gothic construction to give weight especially to a buttress2. a structure or formation suggesting a pinnacle; specifically : a lofty peak3. the highest point of development or achievement : acme
Synonyms: see summit
[
1 pinnacle 1]
transitive verb
(
-cled ;
pin·na·cling \\-k(ə-)liŋ\\)
DATE 14th century
1. to surmount with a pinnacle2. to raise or rear on a pinnacle pinnacle
c.1300, from O.Fr. pinacle (1261), from L.L. pinnaculum "gable," dim. of pinna "peak, point," often confused with penna "wing, feather." Fig. use is attested from c.1400.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7
pinnacle
pin·na·cle / 5pinEkl / noun1. [usually sing.] ~ of sth the most important or successful part of sth
顶点；顶峰；鼎盛时期:
the pinnacle of her career
她事业的顶峰
2. a small pointed stone decoration built on the roof of a building
(建筑物)小尖顶
3. a high pointed piece of rock, especially at the top of a mountain
(尤指山顶的)尖岩,兀立岩石
Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English
Oxford Collocations dictionary for students of Englishpinnacle
noun
VERB + PINNACLE reach He had reached the pinnacle of his military career.
PREP. at the ~ of She is at the pinnacle of her profession.
Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged
pin·na·cleI. \ˈpinə̇kəl, -nēk-\
noun
(
-s)
Etymology: Middle English
pinacle, from Middle French, from Late Latin
pinnaculum gable, small wing, diminutive of Latin
pinna battlement, feather, wing, alteration of
penna feather, wing — more at
pen
1. : an upright architectural member generally ending in a small spire and used especially in Gothic construction to give additional weight to a buttress or an angle pier
: finial
2. : a structure or formation suggesting a pinnacle's height and tapering slenderness;
specifically : a lofty peak
< three silent pinnacles of aged snow — Alfred Tennyson >3. : the highest point of development or achievement
: acme
< men who … reached the pinnacle of their profession — advt >
< on a pinnacle of happiness — Van Wyck Brooks > [
1 pinnacle 1]
II. transitive verb
(
pinnacled ;
pinnacled ;
pinnacling \-k(ə)liŋ\ ;
pinnacles)
1. : to surmount with a pinnacle
< pinnacle a pediment >2. : to raise or rear on or as if on a pinnacle
< desired not to be pinnacled … but to sink into the crowd — John Buchan >