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- DictionaryZe·nith/ˈzēnəTH/
noun
- 1. the time at which something is most powerful or successful: "under Justinian, the Byzantine Empire reached its zenith of influence"
- 2. the point in the sky or celestial sphere directly above an observer.
1. : the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the nadir and vertically above the observer see azimuth illustration. 2. : the highest point reached in the heavens by a celestial body. 3. : culminating point : acme. at the zenith of his powers John Buchan.
Zenith definition: the point on the celestial sphere vertically above a given position or observer.. See examples of ZENITH used in a sentence.
the highest point reached by a heavenly body (= any object existing in space, especially a planet, or the sun) as it travels around, or appears to travel around, another body: The summer sun was at its zenith in a cloudless sky. The sun is well past its zenith when we cross paths with a mini-flotilla. astronomy specialized.
Zenith means the high point — it comes from astronomy, where it describes the highest point in an arc traveled by a star or a planet or another celestial body. The sun reaches its zenith when it is as high in the sky as it is going to go on that day.
In a scientific context, the zenith is the direction of reference for measuring the zenith angle (or zenith angular distance), the angle between a direction of interest (e.g. a star) and the local zenith - that is, the complement of the altitude angle (or elevation angle).
n. 1. The point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer. 2. The upper region of the sky. 3. The highest point above the observer's horizon attained by a celestial body. 4. The point of culmination; the peak: the zenith of her career.
The zenith of something is the time when it is most successful or powerful. His career is now at its zenith. The zenith of Perugia's influence came with the defeat of Siena in 1358.
