peak
adjective/piːk/
/piːk/
[only before noun]- used to describe the highest level of something, or a time when the greatest number of people are doing something or using something
- 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.
- relating to the moment when something is at its most popular or fashionable
- (informal, often humorous) Everyone thought we'd reached peak beard (= the time when beards are most popular), but the trend shows no sign of slowing down.
- The movie is a straightforward peak millennial (= for or by people born towards the end of the 20th century) romcom.
Word Originmid 16th cent.: probably a back-formation from peaked, variant of dialect picked ‘pointed’.
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peak