Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Climax \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 in which the parts of a sentence or
      paragraph are so arranged that each succeeding one rises
      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.

Source : WordNet®

climax
     n 1: 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" [syn: {flood
          tide}]
     2: the decisive moment in a novel or play; "the deathbed scene
        is the climax of the play" [syn: {culmination}]
     3: the moment of most intense pleasure in sexual intercourse
        [syn: {orgasm}, {sexual climax}, {coming}]
     4: the most severe stage of a disease
     5: arrangement of clauses in ascending order of forcefulness
     v : end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage; "The
         meeting culminated in a tearful embrace" [syn: {culminate}]