To reach the highest point or most important moment; to finish or end at a particular point after building up.
From Latin 'culminatus' (reached the top), from 'culmen' (summit or peak). Originally used in astronomy to describe stars reaching their highest point in the sky.
When something culminates, it's literally reaching a peak like a star at its highest point in the night sky—that's why dramatic movie storylines 'culminate in' a huge final moment that everything was building toward.
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