noun

1. a rhetorical series of ideas, images, etc. arranged progressively so that the most forceful is last
2. the final, culminating element or event in a series; highest point, as of interest or excitement; specif.,
   1. the decisive turning point of the action, as in a drama
   2. an orgasm
3. Ecol. a final, self-perpetuating community of plants and animals that develops in a particular climate, soil, etc.: it will persist as long as the same conditions prevail

Etymology: LL < Gr klimax, ladder < base of klinein, to slope: see incline

intransitive verb, transitive verb