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Glite Dictionary
to reach the summit

to reach the summit

6 3.1
Get to the top of a mountain or the highest point in your career
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : alcanzar la cima
  • After days of challenging climbing, the team finally reached the summit of the mountain.

Zach could not reach the summit of Meat Mountain.

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Examples

  • Only the strongest will reach the summit.

    Mulan (2020)

  • About 10,000 climbers attempt to reach the summit of the volcano about 85 miles southeast.

    Blog text (22)

  • It's only a matter of time to keep on going to reach the summit.

    The Summit (2013)

  • But I was still the first to reach the summit.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • We heard stories of all the failed attempts to reach the summit of Toubkal.

    Blog text (1)

  • I pedaled all the harder, anxious to reach the summit.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • There's something sublime about that moment you finally reach the summit of a mountain.

    Blog text (17)

  • Dusk coated the mountain like fog by the time we reached the summit.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Every year, 15,000 people try to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, and almost half fail in the attempt.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Before reaching the summit of Mount Lafayette, the trail passes the lovely, high-mountain Eagle Lakes.

    Academic text (1998)

Synonyms

to reach
vsto reach the summit
∞ 1.1

Get to a place, level, or goal after effort

narrows this idea to arriving at the very top or highest success level
to achieve
vsto reach the summit
∞ 2.3

To reach a goal by effort or skill

tends to cover many accomplishments, while the key stresses top or peak status
to hit
vsto reach the summit
870 2.5

To reach a target or goal

is focused on arriving at the absolute top or peak rather than any target
to attain
vsto reach the summit
110 3.9

To reach a level, place, or goal after hard work

is more specific to mountain or highest success rather than any goal
to triumph
vsto reach the summit
60 3.4

To win or succeed and feel great joy

refers instead to arriving at the top or highest success, not just the emotion
to top out
vsto reach the summit
  • Informal
7 5.4

To reach the highest level or amount

is broader, applying to mountain peaks and major success as well as limits
to summit
vsto reach the summit
5 6.2

To reach the top of a mountain

is also used for highest success levels, not only physical mountain peaks
to surmount
vsto reach the summit
1 6.8

To reach the top of a hill or mountain after climbing it

emphasizes arriving at peaks or top success rather than just overcoming obstacles

Antonyms

to fail
898 1.0

Not succeed in doing something you wanted to do

to fall short
64 3.9

Fail to reach the level people expect

How High

to reach the summit
6 3.1
to ascend
54 4.0

Surface Forms

reach the summit infinitive
reached the summit past
reached the summit past participle
reaching the summit present participle
reaches the summit third person singular

Morphology

reach + the + summit

The meaning 'to arrive at the top or achieve the highest level' is directly and compositionally derived from 'reach' (attain) plus 'summit' (the top). The definite article 'the' is functionally irrelevant, and the metaphorical extension to highest success is a predictable 'reach the top' pattern found in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it.

Etymology

The expression reach the summit comes from mountain climbing: to reach the summit means to get to the very top of a mountain after hard climbing. So we use it to mean 'to achieve the highest goal' or 'to succeed at the top of a career or task'.