Cli"max (?), n. [L., from Gr. ladder, staircase, fr. to make to bend, to lean. See Ladder, Lean, v. i.]
1.
Upward movement; steady increase; gradation; ascent.
Glanvill.
2. Rhet.
A figure of which the parts of a sentence or paragraph are so arranged that each sicceeding one rise above its predecessor in impressiveness.
"Tribulation worketh patience, patience experience, and experience hope" -- a happy climax.
J. D. Forbes.
3.
The highest point; the greatest degree.
We must look higher for the climax of earthly good.
I. Taylor.
To cap the climax, to surpass everything, as in excellence or in absurdity. [Colloq.]
© Webster 1913.