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APEX
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected form: apices
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The point on the celestial sphere toward which the sun and solar system appear to be moving relative to the fixed stars
Synonyms:
apex; apex of the sun's way; solar apex
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("apex" is a kind of...):
celestial point (a point in the heavens (on the celestial sphere))
Holonyms ("apex" is a part of...):
celestial sphere; empyrean; firmament; heavens; sphere; vault of heaven; welkin (the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected)
Antonym:
antapex (the point opposite in direction from the solar apex; the point the solar system is moving away from)
Derivation:
apical (situated at an apex)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The highest point (of something)
Example:
at the peak of the pyramid
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("apex" is a kind of...):
extreme; extreme point; extremum (the point located farthest from the middle of something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "apex"):
crown (the part of a hat (the vertex) that covers the crown of the head)
roof peak (the highest point of a roof)
Derivation:
apical (situated at an apex)
Context examples:
A flat fibrous band extending from the apex and margins of the patella to the tubercle of the tibia.
(Patellar Ligament, NCI Thesaurus)
A vein originating at the apex of the heart that ascends along the posterior interventricular sulcus and drains into the coronary sinus.
(Middle Cardiac Vein, NCI Thesaurus)
Both muscles unite and insert at the apex of the coccyx to form the pelvic floor supporting the pelvic viscera and aiding in defecation.
(Levator Ani, NCI Thesaurus)
Its apex might be likened to a point.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
It has a distinctive pear shape with a wide base and a narrow microvillus apex.
(Brush Cell, NCI Thesaurus)
Neptune and Jupiter will be in sync until mid-November 2020 and reach an apex three times—on February 20, again on July 27, and finally on October 12.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
The paper contains the first reconstructions of ancient relatives of elephants and large apex predators such as sharks, crocodilians and sea snakes.
(Ancient Saharan seaway illustrates how Earth’s climate and creatures can undergo extreme change, National Science Foundation)
Everything in readiness, I made a line fast to the apex of the shears and carried it directly to the windlass.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
At sound of this, the cry of Life plunging down from Life’s apex in the grip of Death, the fall pack at Buck’s heels raised a hell’s chorus of delight.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
Excision of the apex of the petrous portion of the temporal bone.
(Apicectomy, NCI Thesaurus)
