Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word: APOGEE

Correct — B. Apogee is the point in an orbit around the Earth that is farthest from the Earth. By extension it means the highest point of anything: the apogee of a career, of an empire.

Peak also means the highest point, so it is the synonym → option (b).

The Greek parts give it away: apo, 'away', and gē, 'earth'. The apogee is the point farthest from the earth.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Start — Start names the beginning of something, not its highest point. The apogee of a career is its summit, a different moment from its start.
• (c)
  Nadir — Nadir means the lowest point, so it is the opposite of apogee, not a synonym. It traps a candidate who knows both are astronomy words but not which end each names.
• (d)
  Base — Base is the bottom or foundation of something. It points to the lowest part, the reverse of the high point that apogee names.

Apogee began as an astronomy term: the point of an orbit farthest from the Earth. The nearest point is perigee.

The figurative sense, the highest point or culmination, grew out of that picture, and it is the sense a synonym item tests.

The options split three to one. Start, Nadir and Base sit at the bottom or the beginning. Peak is the lone option at the top.

Key facts

• Apogee is the point in an orbit around the Earth that is farthest from the Earth.
• Figuratively, apogee means the highest point or culmination.
• Perigee is the opposite orbital point, the one nearest the Earth.
• Nadir means the lowest point, and its astronomical opposite is zenith.

Common traps

• Choosing Nadir because it is the other astronomy word among the options, without checking which end it names
• Confusing apogee, the farthest point of an orbit, with perigee, the nearest

No directly related past PYQ was found.