zenith
/ˈzɛn.ɪθ//ˈzi.nɪθ/
zenith noun: the point in the sky vertically above a given position or observer; the point in the celestial sphere opposite the nadir.
Noun
zenith (plural zeniths)
- The point in the sky vertically above a given position or observer; the point in the celestial sphere opposite the nadir.
- The 12 day wee had the wind high and large ſo that in two dayes ſaile we made the Sunne our Zenith or verticall point[…]1638, Sir Thomas Herbert, Some years travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique
- In this 10th m. appeared that prodigious Comett the tayl whereof was like the blade of a double edged sword, and reached almost from the horizon to the zenith.1671–1693: Rev. Thomas Jolly, private notebook; printed in: 1895, Henry Fishwick (editor), The Note Book of the Rev. Thomas Jolly: A.D. 1671–1693. Extracts from the Church Books of Altham and...
- The highest point in the sky reached by a celestial body.
- […] in the middle of the day, when the sun was in the zenith, the violence of the heat was too great to stir out […]1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC
- As far to the west as Monica could see, her world was a sea of fog, […]. Above it arched a cerulean sky; as the sun climbed to the zenith, […], the fog gradually took on a bluish tinge.1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter II, in The Understanding Heart
- Highest point or state; peak.
- Winning the continental championship was the zenith of my career.
- I find my zenith doth depend upon / A most auspicious star.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
- Synonyms:
- acme, apogee, culmination, pinnacle, apex
zenith meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
zenith in Hindi
- astronomy: point vertically above a position or observer
- सिम्त simt
- highest point or state; peak
- पराकाष्ठा parākāṣṭhā, स्वर्ग svarg, सिम्त simt
zenith in Tamil
- உச்சம், மீ உச்ச நிலை, மீ முகடு, உயர்வெல்லை, மீமுகடு, வானுச்சி
zenith in Urdu
- اوج, اوج فلک, اوج کمال, چوٹی, فوق, انتہا
zenith in Bengali
- সবচেয়ে উচুঁ জায়গা এমন
More languagesFewer languages
- zenith in Telugu
- స్వర్గము svargamu
- zenith in Malayalam
- ശീർഷബിന്ദു, ഔന്നത്യം, അത്യുച്ചനില, നേരേ മുകൾഭാഗം
- zenith in Kannada
- ಪರಾಕಾಷ್ಠೆ, ಶಿಖರ, ಬಾನನೆತ್ತಿ, ತುತ್ತತುದಿ
- zenith in Sanskrit
- पराकाष्ठा parākāṣṭhā
- zenith in Tagalog
- ituktok
- zenith in Arabic
- سَمْت samt, ذُرْوَة ḏurwa
- zenith in Malay
- zenit
- zenith in Indonesian
- zenit
- zenith in Persian
- سمتالرأس samt-or-ra's, سرسو sarsu, اوج owj
- zenith in Vietnamese
- thiên đỉnh, cực điểm, điểm cao nhất, tột đỉnh
Examples of zenith in a sentence
- In the east a pillar of cloud reared from horizon to zenith, with a kind of arm outstretched like a threatening colossus.1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter XI, in Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, published 1943, page 180:
- It was during those civil troubles […] this aspiring family reached the zenith.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XIII, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please...
- "There for a while I enjoyed myself in the zenith of glory and pleasure."1900, William Beckford, The History of the Caliph Vathek, page 173:
Synonyms of zenith
Antonyms
Forms of zenith
| plural | zeniths |
|---|
Origin of zenith
From Middle English cenyth, from Medieval Latin cenit, from Arabic سَمْت (samt, “direction, path”), from the fuller form سَمْت اَلرَّأْس (samt ar-raʔs, “direction of the head”). The -ni- for -m- is sometimes thought to be due to a misreading of the three strokes, which is plausible, though it could be a mere phonetic approximation.
Words formed from zenith
Phrases with zenith
Questions about zenith
- What does zenith mean?
- Zenith means the point in the sky vertically above a given position or observer; the point in the celestial sphere opposite the nadir.
- What is zenith in Hindi?
- Zenith in Hindi is सिम्त (simt), पराकाष्ठा (parākāṣṭhā), स्वर्ग (svarg). See Zenith meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use zenith in a sentence?
- In the east a pillar of cloud reared from horizon to zenith, with a kind of arm outstretched like a threatening colossus.
- What part of speech is zenith?
- Zenith is a noun.
- How do you pronounce zenith?
- Zenith is pronounced /ˈzɛn.ɪθ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of zenith?
- The plural of zenith is zeniths.
Words near zenith in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: zenith (page history and authors); zenith (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); zenith (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); zenith (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); zenith (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); zenith (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-zenith.ogg, en-us-zenith.ogg, en-au-zenith.ogg.
Cite this entry: “zenith.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/zenith. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.