the highest point or point of maximum intensity or highest dramatic tension
the highest point or point of maximum intensity; a culmination
the point of highest dramatic tension or a major turning point in some action (e.g. of a play)
= orgasm
a technique in or passage of rhetoric in which a series of phrases or sentences is arranged in increasing order of forcefulness
a relatively stable final stage reached by a plant community in its ecological development
[via Latin from Greek klimax ladder, from klinein to lean]