as in pinnacle
the highest part or point
excitement in the auditorium slowly built up and reached its crescendo when the star walked on stage
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as in to peak
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Recent Examples of crescendo
Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 18 May 2025
His style is somewhere between rap and traditional poetry, often starting slow and building to a crescendo with rat-a-tat references to social issues that deliver rhymes in unexpected cadences.
—Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 May 2025
The Florida Panthers’ run of consistent success over the past handful of years, which reached a crescendo last year with the franchise winning its first Stanley Cup, plays a heavy part in that.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 11 May 2025
Residents rave about the town’s game-day atmosphere, which reached a crescendo two seasons ago when Michigan won the national title.
—Brandon Griggs, CNN Money, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for crescendo
Noun
Our obsession with ranking greatness // NCAAs crescendo with exciting Final Fours, but college basketball is broken.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 18 May 2025
His style is somewhere between rap and traditional poetry, often starting slow and building to a crescendo with rat-a-tat references to social issues that deliver rhymes in unexpected cadences.
—Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 May 2025
The Florida Panthers’ run of consistent success over the past handful of years, which reached a crescendo last year with the franchise winning its first Stanley Cup, plays a heavy part in that.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 11 May 2025
Residents rave about the town’s game-day atmosphere, which reached a crescendo two seasons ago when Michigan won the national title.
—Brandon Griggs, CNN Money, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for crescendo
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crescendo
Noun
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The new Compton High School, which will open this fall, stands as a pinnacle example: Teachers will not have their own classrooms — but will conduct classes in various spaces depending on topic and availability.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2025
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To most, the rivalry matchup with the Padres was the pinnacle of the postseason.—
Valentina Martinez,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 June 2025
Verb
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This helped design a rotation policy to ensure Liverpool peaked during a season’s defining period.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
13 June 2025
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Samurai swords’ production peaked during the 15th century, which was filled with feudal wars and political turbulence.—
Akiko Katayama,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
Noun
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Over the course of a year, the true sun will move a distance in the sky equal to twice Earth’s tilt, or about 47 degrees (compared with the 90-degree angle from the horizon to the zenith, directly overhead).—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
5 June 2025
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The red giant star Arcturus can also be found shining high above the moon close to the zenith (the point in the sky directly above an observer) on the night of June 5, while Mars will be visible in the west as a red point of light close to the kingly star Regulus, in the constellation Leo.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
5 June 2025
Verb
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Chicken The national average crested above $2 per pound for fresh, whole chicken for the first time last year and hit a record high of $2.08 in November.—
Claire Malon,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2025
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Hughes logged huge minutes throughout the contest, cresting 25 total minutes played before overtime even began.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Their presence is the culmination of a decade-long project under Schmetzer, the latest big game for a club well-accustomed to the spotlight.—
Jeff Rueter,
New York Times,
8 June 2025
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But the opening is the culmination of many more years, stretching back to Shi’s start in the hospitality space.—
Kristen Tauer,
Footwear News,
5 June 2025
Noun
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Nate Lewis had four hits and three RBIs, including the tiebreaker in the top of the ninth. Crespi 4, Mater Dei 3: Mikey Martinez hit a three-run home run and Jackson Eisenhauer threw two hits of shutout relief with four strikeouts.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
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Still, another factor should always rise to the top of the list: relationships.—
Shirin Ali,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Noun
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For the past four years, a fleet of drone vessels has purposefully steered into the heart of hurricanes to gather information on a storm’s wind speeds, wave heights and, critically, the complex transfer of heat and moisture between the ocean and the air right above it.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
13 June 2025
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The attack comes as tensions have reached new heights over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.—
Jon Gambrell,
Christian Science Monitor,
13 June 2025
Noun
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The Dial of Destiny, the utterly amazing climax of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One.—
Lexy Perez,
HollywoodReporter,
10 June 2025
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That represents a huge decline from 2008, the climax of the Barack Obama coalition, when the Democratic candidate won 62% of the young male vote against GOP challenger John McCain.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crescendo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crescendo. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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