the very highest point of a mountain or hill
After six hours of climbing, the hikers reached the summit just in time to watch the sunrise.
Snow still covered the summit even though the valley below was blooming with flowers.
✦ Late Middle English from Old French somete, variant of somite, from sommet ‘peak’, diminutive of som ‘top’, from Latin summum ‘highest point’.
a formal meeting of leaders or top officials to discuss important matters
Leaders from eight countries gathered at a summit to discuss climate change.
The trade summit resulted in a historic agreement to cut tariffs.
✦ Sense of ‘meeting of heads of government’ originated in the 1950s, extending the idea of the ‘highest point’ to the highest level of negotiation.
the highest possible level of achievement or success
Winning the Nobel Prize was the summit of her scientific career.
The athlete reached the summit of his sport with an Olympic gold medal.
to reach the summit of a mountain; to climb to the highest point
They plan to summit Mount Kilimanjaro next summer.
She summited the peak in record time despite strong winds.
