Culminate vs. Finish — What's the Difference?

To reach the highest point or degree; climax

To stop (doing an activity or task) after reaching the point at which there is nothing left to do

To come to completion; end

To bring to a required or desired state

(Astronomy) To reach the highest point above an observer's horizon. Used of stars and other celestial bodies.

To arrive at or attain the end of

To bring to the point of greatest intensity or to completion; climax

(Sports) To perform the last maneuver in (an offensive play), scoring a goal.

Of a heavenly body, to be at the highest point, reach its greatest altitude.

To consume all of; use up

(intransitive) To reach the (physical or figurative) summit, highest point, peak etc.

To give (wood, for example) a desired or particular surface texture.

To reach a climax; to come to a decisive point, especially an end or conclusion.

To destroy; kill

To reach a point at which continued progress is not possible.

To bring about the ruin of

(transitive) To finalize, bring to a conclusion, form the climax of.

To come to an end; stop

(anatomy) Relating to the culmen

To reach the end of a task, course, or relationship

To reach its highest point of altitude; to come to the meridian; to be vertical or directly overhead.

(Sports) To score a goal as the last maneuver in a play

To reach the highest point, as of rank, size, power, numbers, etc.

The final part; the conclusion

Growing upward, as distinguished from a lateral growth; - applied to the growth of corals.

The reason for one's ruin; downfall

End, especially to reach a final or climactic stage;

The last treatment or coating of a surface

Bring to a head or to the highest point;

The surface texture produced by such a treatment or coating.

Reach the highest or most decisive point

A material used in surfacing or finishing.

Of a celestial body: reach its highest altitude or the meridian

Completeness, refinement, or smoothness of execution; polish.

Rise to, or form, a summit;

The flavor left in the mouth after wine has been swallowed.

An end; the end of anything.

A protective coating given to wood or metal and other surfaces.

The result of any process changing the physical or chemical properties of cloth.

A finishing touch; careful elaboration; polish.

(sports) A shot on goal, especially one that ends in a goal.

(transitive) To complete (something).

(transitive) To apply a treatment to a surface or similar.

(transitive) To change an animal's food supply in the months before it is due for slaughter, with the intention of fattening the animal.

(intransitive) To come to an end.

(transitive) To put an end to; to destroy.

To reach orgasm.

To arrive at the end of; to bring to an end; to put an end to; to make an end of; to terminate.

To bestow the last required labor upon; to complete; to bestow the utmost possible labor upon; to perfect; to accomplish; to polish.

To come to an end; to terminate.

To end; to die.

That which finishes, puts an end to or perfects.

The joiner work and other finer work required for the completion of a building, especially of the interior. See Inside finish, and Outside finish.

The labor required to give final completion to any work; hence, minute detail, careful elaboration, or the like.

The result of completed labor, as on the surface of an object; manner or style of finishing; as, a rough, dead, or glossy finish given to cloth, stone, metal, etc.

Completion; - opposed to start, or beginning.

A decorative texture or appearance of a surface (or the substance that gives it that appearance);

Designated event that concludes a contest (especially a race);

The act of finishing;

The place designated as the end (as of a race or journey);

The temporal end; the concluding time;

(wine tasting) the taste of a wine on the back of the tongue (as it is swallowed);

Event whose occurrence ends something;

The downfall of someone (as of persons on one side of a conflict);

A highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality;

Come or bring to a finish or an end;

Finally be or do something;

Have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical;

Provide with a finish;

Finish eating all the food on one's plate or on the table;

Cause to finish a relationship with somebody;