Peaking
verbReaching the highest point, level, or maximum value before declining.
How to spell peaking
7 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce peaking
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does peaking mean?
- verbReaching the highest point, level, or maximum value before declining.
Peaking in a sentence
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Sales were peaking in December before the slow January.
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His fitness was peaking just as the marathon began.
Where does peaking come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
This is the present participle of the verb 'peak', which traces back to the noun 'peak' meaning a pointed top or summit. The noun arose in English in the 1500s as a variant of 'pike' and 'peke', words for something sharp or pointed, and these are related to the Old English 'pic', meaning a pointed tool or point. The verb sense, 'to reach a highest point or maximum', developed later by extension from the image of a mountain summit. Spelling trouble comes from its sound-alikes: 'peeking' (from 'peek', to glance) and 'piquing' (from 'pique', to provoke) sound identical but are spelled with different vowels. Remembering that this 'peak' shares its 'ea' with the peak of a mountain helps keep it apart from those cousins.
How the word is built
- peak (highest point, pointed top)
- -ing (present participle/gerund suffix)
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