Use apex when the idea is a precise top, tip, or vertex, especially in geometry, anatomy, and careful description.
Use apex when the idea is a precise top, tip, or vertex, especially in geometry, anatomy, and careful description.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| Put the box on the apex of the shelf. | Put the box on the top of the shelf. |
| The apex of the table was dusty. | The top of the table was dusty. |
| The triangle has three apexes. | The triangle has three vertices. |
| The apex of the lung is the bottom part. | The apex of the lung is the upper pointed part. |
Use apex for a high point that feels like the top of an ascent, not just any good moment or strong result.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| Sales reached an apex for one hour at noon. | Sales peaked for one hour at noon. |
| The meeting was the apex of a normal workday. | The meeting was the busiest part of a normal workday. |
| She reached the apex of her career in her first week. | She reached an early high point in her career in her first week. |
| The team hit the apex because it won one minor game. | The team hit a high point because it won one minor game. |
Use apex in driving and racing for the inside clipping point of a turn, not for the whole corner.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| Brake throughout the whole apex. | Brake before the corner and clip the apex. |
| The track has twelve apexes because it has twelve straights. | The track has twelve corners, each with an apex. |
| He missed the apex on the straight. | He missed the apex in the corner. |
| The apex is where the car leaves the outside of the bend. | The apex is where the car comes closest to the inside of the bend. |
Use apex before a noun for the highest-ranked member of a structured system, as in apex predator or apex court.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| That is an apex restaurant because the food is tasty. | That is an excellent restaurant because the food is tasty. |
| A rabbit is an apex predator in the meadow. | A hawk can be an apex predator in the meadow. |
| The local branch is the apex bank in the system. | The central bank is the apex bank in the system. |
| The apex court heard a parking appeal first. | The lower court heard the parking appeal first. |
Use apex in these fields only when the discipline itself names that point or mark an apex.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| Every accent mark in modern French is an apex. | The ancient Latin long-vowel mark is called an apex. |
| The solar apex is the point directly above the Sun. | The solar apex is the direction toward which the Sun appears to move. |
| The deepest part of the vein is its apex. | The outcrop nearest the surface is its apex. |
| Any map arrow can be called an apex. | Use apex only for a named technical point or mark. |
Choose apex for a precise top, tip, high point, or top-ranked place. Use uppercase APEX only for separate abbreviations or proper names.
Apex is overused where top, peak, corner, or an uppercase proper name would be more exact.
Borrowed from Latin apex, meaning a summit, peak, tip, top, or extreme end. The regular English plural is apexes, while the Latin plural apices remains common in technical use.
What does apex mean?
Apex means the top, tip, pointed end, or highest point of something, either literally or figuratively.
What is the plural of apex?
Both apexes and apices are used. Apexes is the regular plural, while apices is common in technical contexts.
What does apex mean in racing?
In racing, the apex is the point where the racing line comes closest to the inside of a corner.
What does apex predator mean?
An apex predator is a predator at the top of a food chain, with few or no natural predators of its own.
Is APEX the same as apex?
No. Lowercase apex is the English word for a top or high point. Uppercase APEX is usually an abbreviation or proper name.