Tra từ peak - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

peak [peak peaks peaked peaking] noun, verb, adjective BrE [piːk] NAmE [piːk]
noun
1. usually singular the point when sb/sth is best, most successful, strongest, etc.
Syn: ↑height
• Traffic reaches its peak between 8 and 9 in the morning.
• She's at the peak of her career.
•the peaks and troughs of married life
•Membership of the club has fallen from a peak of 600 people in 2006.
compare ↑off-peak
2. the pointed top of a mountain; a mountain with a pointed top
•a mountain peak
•snow-capped/jagged peaks
• The climbers made camp halfway up the peak.

3. any narrow and pointed shape, edge, etc
• Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks.
•He combed his hair into a peak.
4. (BrE) (NAmE bill, visor)the stiff front part of a cap that sticks out above your eyes

Word Origin:
mid 16th cent.: probably a back-formation from peaked, variant of dialect picked ‘pointed’.

Thesaurus:
peak noun
1. C, sing.+ sing./pl. v.
•She's at the peak of her career.
height • • top • • high point • • climax • • prime • • highlight • • heyday • |especially written culmination • |business journalism high •
Opp: trough
the peak/height/top/high point/climax/prime/highlight/culmination/heyday of sth
at its peak/its height/the top/a high point/its climax/its culmination/a high
reach its peak/its height/the top/a high point/its climax/its culmination/a high
Peak or height? Peak is used before other nouns (peak hours/demand/fitness) but height is not. A person can be at the peak/height of their career/powers, but otherwise height is not used to talk about a person. You can talk about a peak of a particular number or level but not a height of a number or level.
2. C
•a mountain peak
summit • • ridge • • mountain •
on a/the peak/summit/ridge/mountain
climb a peak/ridge/mountain
Peak or summit? A mountain can have more than one peak; only the highest peak is the summit. A whole mountain can be called a peak; only the top is called the summit.

Example Bank:
•Economic life moves in cycles of peaks and troughs.
•Her performance is just past its peak.
•Production is rising back towards its 1999 peak.
•She is at the peak of her popularity.
•The crisis was now at its peak.
•The engine is tuned to peak efficiency.
•The graph shows two very sharp price peaks.
•The influx of tourists has reached its summer peak.
•The party's numbers reached a peak of 40 000 in 2001.
•The share index rose to a new all-time peak of 2112.
•We looked up at the rocky peaks towering above us.
•You want your hair to look in peak condition.
•at times of peak demand
•climbers on the distant mountain peaks
•peak-rate phone calls
•Membership of the club has fallen from a peak of 600 people in 2005.
•a mountain peak
•snow-capped/jagged peaks

verb intransitive
to reach the highest point or value
• Oil production peaked in the early 1980s.
• Unemployment peaked at 17%.
•an athlete who peaks (= produces his or her best performance) at just the right time
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
mid 16th cent.: probably a back-formation from peaked, variant of dialect picked ‘pointed’.

Example Bank:
•Athletes need to peak at the right time.
•North Sea oil production peaked in 1999.

adjective only before noun used to describe the highest level of sth, or a time when the greatest number of people are doing sth or using sth
• It was a time of peak demand for the product.
• March is one of the peak periods for our business.
•The athletes are all in peak condition.
•We need extra help during the peak season.
compare ↑off-peak

Word Origin:
mid 16th cent.: probably a back-formation from peaked, variant of dialect picked ‘pointed’.

See also: ↑bill ▪ ↑visor