ˈklaɪmæks ˈklaɪmæks ˈkʌl.mɪnˌeɪt ˌkʌl.məˈneɪ.ʃən ˌkʌl.mɪnˈeɪ.ʃən ˈɔːɡaz(ə)m ˈɔɹ.ɡæz.əm the moment of most intense pleasure in sexual intercourse end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage The meeting culminated in a tearful embrace the decisive moment in a novel or play the deathbed scene is the climax of the play arrangement of clauses in ascending order of forcefulness the highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding the climax of the artist's career in the flood tide of his success the most severe stage of a disease