APOGEE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does apogee mean? 

• APOGEE (noun)
  The noun APOGEE has 2 senses:

1. a final climactic stage

2. apoapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is at the greatest distance from the Earth

  Familiarity information: APOGEE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• APOGEE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A final climactic stage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

apogee; culmination

Context example:

their achievements stand as a culmination of centuries of development

Hypernyms ("apogee" is a kind of...):

phase; stage (any distinct time period in a sequence of events)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Apoapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is at the greatest distance from the Earth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("apogee" is a kind of...):

apoapsis; point of apoapsis ((astronomy) the point in an orbit farthest from the body being orbited)

Antonym:

perigee (periapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is nearest to the Earth)

Derivation:

apogean (relating to or characteristic of an apogee)

 Context examples 

At perigree — the point at which the moon is closest to Earth — the moon can be as much as 14 percent closer to Earth than at apogee, when the moon is farthest from our planet.

(November Supermoon a Spectacular Sight, NASA)