APEX (apices)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: apices   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does apex mean? 

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

1. the highest point (of something)

2. the point on the celestial sphere toward which the sun and solar system appear to be moving relative to the fixed stars

  Familiarity information: APEX used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• APEX (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The highest point (of something)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

acme; apex; peak; vertex

Context example:

at the peak of the pyramid

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

extreme; extreme point; extremum (the point located farthest from the middle of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "apex"):

crown (the part of a hat (the vertex) that covers the crown of the head)

roof peak (the highest point of a roof)

Derivation:

apical (situated at an apex)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The point on the celestial sphere toward which the sun and solar system appear to be moving relative to the fixed stars

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

apex; apex of the sun's way; solar apex

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

celestial point (a point in the heavens (on the celestial sphere))

Holonyms ("apex" is a part of...):

celestial sphere; empyrean; firmament; heavens; sphere; vault of heaven; welkin (the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected)

Antonym:

antapex (the point opposite in direction from the solar apex; the point the solar system is moving away from)

Derivation:

apical (situated at an apex)

 Context examples 

A vein originating at the apex of the heart that receives numerous tributaries as it ascends before draining into the left extremity of the coronary sinus.

(Great Cardiac Vein, NCI Thesaurus)

A noninflammatory, usually bilateral protrusion of the cornea, the apex being displaced downward and nasally.

(Keratoconus, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Sometimes the main opening branches near the apex to form two or more apical openings.

(Foramen Apicis Dentis, NCI Thesaurus)

One of two small conical nodules of elastic cartilage which caps the apex of the arytenoid cartilages.

(Corniculate Cartilage, NCI Thesaurus)

A portion of the urethra that extends between the apex of the prostate and the bulb of the corpus spongiosum and lies between the superior layers of the triangular ligament.

(Bulbomembranous Urethra, NCI Thesaurus)

Bone-like rigid connective tissue covering the root of a tooth from the cementoenamel junction to the apex and lining the apex of the root canal.

(Cementum, NCI Thesaurus)

A structure composed of a short stem with embryonic leaves, with bud primordial in the axils and at the apex.

(Leaf Bud, Food and Drug Administration)

In an individual with a left-dominant heart, this branch arises from the circumflex artery atrioventricular groove continuation and supplies the inferior apex of the heart.

(Left Posterolateral Descending Artery, NCI Thesaurus)

At or around the apex of the root of a tooth.

(Periapical, NCI Thesaurus)

A meningioma that affects the petrous apex.

(Petrous Apex Meningioma, NCI Thesaurus)