What does "crest" mean?
The summit of a hill or mountain ridge.
Crest
/kɹɛst/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The summit of a hill or mountain ridge.
- Grammar: crest is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: peak, summit, top, achievement.
- Useful contrasts: abysses, bald head, bare head.
- Usage evidence: I've forgotten. Was House Lancaster's family crest a red rose, or a white rose?
How to use "crest"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "crest" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "crest" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "crest" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "crest" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "crest" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "peak" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "crest", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The summit of a hill or mountain ridge.
- 2 Acronym of comparisons, reasons, examples, statistics, testimony, the five types of verbal support used to enhance an oral presentation. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 3 a showy growth of e.g. feathers or skin on the head of a bird or other animal wordnet
- 4 A tuft, or other natural ornament, growing on an animal's head, for example the comb of a cockerel, the swelling on the head of a snake, the lengthened feathers of the crown or nape of bird, etc.
- 5 (heraldry) in medieval times, an emblem used to decorate a helmet wordnet
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 The plume of feathers, or other decoration, worn on or displayed on a helmet; the distinctive ornament of a helmet.
- 7 the center of a cambered road wordnet
- 8 A bearing worn, not upon the shield, but usually on a helmet above it, sometimes (as for clerics) separately above the shield or separately as a mark for plate, in letterheads, and the like.
"I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me. I look upon notoriety with the same indifference as on the buttons on a man's shirt-front, or the crest on his note-paper."
- 9 the top line of a hill, mountain, or wave wordnet
- 10 The upper curve of a horse's neck.
- 11 the top or extreme point of something (usually a mountain or hill) wordnet
- 12 The ridge or top of a wave.
- 13 The helm or head, as typical of a high spirit; pride; courage.
- 14 The ornamental finishing which surmounts the ridge of a roof, canopy, etc.
- 15 The top line of a slope or embankment.
- 16 A ridge along the surface of a bone.
- 17 A design or logo, especially one of an institution, sports club, association or high-class family. informal
"Hungry for fame and the approval of rare-animal collector Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton), Darwin deceives the Captain and his crew into believing they can get enough booty to win the pirate competition by entering Polly in a science fair. So the pirates journey to London in cheerful, blinkered defiance of the Queen, a hotheaded schemer whose royal crest reads simply “I hate pirates.”"
- 18 Any of several birds in the family Regulidae, including the goldcrests and firecrests.
Verb
- 1 Particularly with reference to waves, to reach a peak. intransitive
- 2 reach a high point wordnet
- 3 To reach the crest of (e.g. a hill or mountain). transitive
"the land rolls gently, so that, upon cresting a low rise or passing a copse of wind turbines, you suddenly spot a lot full of lorries or a complex of gigantic sheds."
- 4 lie at the top of wordnet
- 5 To furnish with, or surmount as, a crest; to serve as a crest for. transitive
"His legs bestrid the ocean, his reared arm / Crested the world."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To mark with lines or streaks like waving plumes. transitive
"Like as the shining skie in summers night, / What time the dayes with scorching heat abound, / Is creasted all with lines of firie light"
Proper Noun
- 1 A census-designated place in San Diego County, California, United States.
- 2 A surname.
Example
"I've forgotten. Was House Lancaster's family crest a red rose, or a white rose?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "crest"?
Common synonyms include: peak, summit, top, achievement, acme, aigrette.
How do you use "crest" in a sentence?
I've forgotten. Was House Lancaster's family crest a red rose, or a white rose?
How do you pronounce "crest"?
Pronounced /kɹɛst/.
Etymology
From Middle English creste, from Old French creste (modern French crête) and perhaps continuing Old English cræsta (“crest, tuft, plume”); both ultimately from Vulgar Latin *cresta, from Latin crista. Doublet of crista. The informal meaning “design, logo” (noun sense 11) stems from a misinterpretation of the heraldic noun sense 4, which specifically refers to the object placed on top of the helm.